Look Up Fellowship "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near." Luke 21:28

I wanted to provide you all with a quick update.

First and foremost, thanks to each and every one of you who have been praying for me and Mrs. JRed, as well as those of you have have even emailed and/or called us directly. We appreciate your concern and prayers greatly -- thank you very much.

As you know, this has been a brutal 7-10 days out of the blue for me and my family. I know we all have our struggles and lot in life, and I'm not going to complain about it, but it just all caught me completely off guard. You know what else caught me off guard? I can't explain it, but it's like the good Lord took my passion for all things prophecy until I can rekindle my passion for all things Him. It's left me wondering if my love for prophecy (in that it reveals the truth of God's Word and proves His existence not to mention the fact that it's a great evangelical, witnessing tool) had surpassed my love for Him. It pains me to even consider the thought, but I want to share with you all what's been on my mind since I've put things on hold. Let me rephrase that -- since He told me quite plainly to put things on hold, and I obliged out of fear, obedience, and reverence despite the fact that it makes no sense to me.

A love for prophecy and a love for the Lord. I thought both were one in the same, that both were in sync, but maybe not. Jesus' chilling words in Matthew 7:21-23 has been weighing on me quite a bit during this time. It's bizarre and uncomfortable, but I JUST KNOW that He wants me to be still and rest -- rest in Him and His Word for some reason and to avoid writing here or engaging in discussions elsewhere (i.e. podcasts, radio shows, etc.).

I haven’t really checked email much and obviously haven't updated this site until now (besides approving comments that came in) since those last two entries last week, but I wanted to get back to you all before going off to bed (these nights have seen me go to bed at some of the earliest hours I’ve gone to bed in months too!) because I value you all as a true friends, my fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ, and wanted to at least let you know that we’re still here and ok. We’re not out of the woods yet because they still don’t have an official diagnosis for my wife, but at least she’s out of the hospital and at home now.

On a quick side note for those who responded harshly to my comments about our experience at the local hospital. I wasn't trying to paint every medical professional and medical institution with a broad brush. I know that there is "good" and there is "bad" to everything. I was merely sharing the experience that we had and trying to convey the frustration felt despite the fact that I walked on egg shells around the staff and used kid gloves at all times because I know fully well what they have to deal with since my mom's been a Nurse her entire career. This was different. My comments regarding the "younger staff" are completely warranted. Trust me. It's sad, but it's true. Besides, being in the Employment and Recruiting Industries this is an issue that I see with nearly 90% of all younger professionals regardless of industry -- they don't want to work let alone start at the bottom of the corporate ladder even though they're right out of school. They want the world handed to them and act as though they're already on top of the world. Not a good mix. Lastly, it's not like I'm some crotchety old man either because I just turned 30 in June. Simply put, the "Me, Myself, and I" generation has infected the Health Care Industry more than any other -- at least here in Western New York it has.

Getting back to the more important issue at hand, I hate to say this because I can’t believe it, but the way this week’s been going and the way I’m feeling still, my heart just isn’t in it (writing and/or hosting The Big Finale) for whatever reason and it pains me to admit that. I’m getting the same clear message TO WAIT AND REST, which makes no sense to me given the urgency of the times not to mention the very important subject matter I was planning to discuss with upcoming guests on the show. His ways are not our ways though, right?

Who knows when (or if) I'll even get the green light from God to resume all "normal activities" again. My gosh this is so frustrating and confusing to me because it's against my nature! It’s not so much that I feel "defeated" like I maybe did when I first wrote those last two columns (after all, I’m too blessed to be depressed!), but it’s just like this "numbness" and "quiet" needs to be there because it's almost like that "voice" inside, or that fire and passion, has been diminished for some reason and the only way I can hear it and rekindle it is to be still and remove everything else that's competing for my attention right now. I know that my attention needs to be squarely on Him and His Word for now instead of on the world and on the evidence in the world that demonstrates that His plan is unfolding. Again, I don't know why or for how long. It just is what it is.

My sincere apologies. I know that many of you have made fellowship with me and the rest of this community a regular part of your daily routine. Satan might think he's won a victory by putting out fellowship on hold and by putting me on the sidelines, but what he doesn't know is that these marching orders have come from the One who is greater than him and He has a plan. I just really don’t know what else to say or how to explain this! They guy who’s used to writing 5 original pieces per day and doing 1-2 shows per week is finally at a loss for words! I have my instructions for the time being and must submit.

Thanks for your prayers. Thanks for your continued support. Thanks for your emails. Thanks for your phone calls. Thanks for your comments. Thanks for your understanding. Thanks for your patience.

Please continue to pray for me and my wife. I’ll be in touch hopefully sooner rather than later.

In Christ,

Jeff "JRed" Radt

Interesting.

After the last 24 hours, part of me wants to just crawl into bed and allow the Holy Spirit to comfort and heal my soul while I sleep and hit the reset on just about everything. The other part of me is mad as hell and wants to stay up all night fighting Satan and his evil schemes by reminding him of Who it is that I belong to. He probably thinks he has me right where he wants me, and that he can kick me when I'm done, but I know how this story ends and I know his ultimate fate!

I had a feeling a "faith test" of some sort was coming, and that maybe that's perhaps why I was so focused and intent on drawing nearer to God and resting in His Word. Now I know why (at least in part) because the last 24 hours completely came out of left field and just about caught me flat-footed.

When it rains it pours sometimes. Yet, we still can choose how we want to respond in the face of such adversity. Despite my recent acknowledgement of my personal struggles, I think you know how I chose to respond.

What happened? Well, in the middle of my self-examination process last night (and mere hours after hitting the "Publish" button!) Mrs. JRed began to experience severe stomach pains. Bad enough whenever it happens to anyone, but for a 28-year-old to have the kind of pain she was feeling out of the blue like that was even more disturbing.

We immediately thought it was her appendix and rushed to the Emergency Room of our local hospital. Fortunately, we live less than 5 minutes away. That was around 1:45am. We sat in the Emergency Room after they administered the CT Scan and pain meds until about 10:30am when they moved us upstairs to a "private" room. I put the word "private" in quotes because another young woman shared the room with my wife. We sat there from 10:30am until 9:30pm before a single doctor could come in and see us to properly diagnose her and issue the right treatment.


(NOTE: Not my favorite pic of the two of us -- I think I have a weird smile and strange body language in this one -- but Wifey looks beautiful as usual so I'm gonna run with it!)

Folks, it's not like Buffalo, NY is a major metropolitan area or like we even live in a busy part of the city. In my book, there was no excuse for that sort of thing just like there's no excuse as to why the hospital's ONLY Radiologist who reads all the CT Scans is in Australia.

No, the guy isn't someone who works here and who's merely on vacation this summer "Down Under" at the moment. Nope, this hospital admitted to us that they don't have a local, in-house Radiologist and that the only one they do have on staff is a guy they outsource that role and work to who actually lives in Australia! Is this a common practice? Being in the Recruiting Industry and running my own small Recruiting Firm, you mean to tell me they can't find anyone local let alone from the states to give that job to?

Anyway, without getting into specifics let's just say that it's a good thing we pushed for a second opinion and review of the original CT Scan (sorry Mr. Australia) because when they took a closer look it revealed A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT (AND LESS SERIOUS) PROBLEM than the one they had originally decided to go with! Praise the Lord! That new finding prompted them to cancel a virtual laundry list of GI-related procedures and tests, which surely would've put Mrs. JRed through so much unnecessary pain and suffering for nothing. I'm sorry if I expect more from my local medical institutions (and I know that's precisely why people always say you should "get a second opinion"), but come on, that's just all unacceptable to me.

There's also no excuse for the fact that the young lady in the room next to my wife had told us about how the other day she had to sit in her own urine for 20 minutes before she was forced to clean herself up and work through the pain herself due to the non-response of the staff at the time. Again, unacceptable!

On a brief side note, this experience absolutely convinced me (as if I needed convincing, right?) that if this current Health Care Bill passes it will undoubtedly makes things worse than they already are -- and they're already very bad! In fairness, I will say that my mom (who's a nurse) has been right all along when she's talked to me about some of the major problems in the Health Care Industry. Simply put, the unique national environment is creating a complete mess! How? The urgent need for more and more medical professionals and the economy being what it is has led many people to pursue a career in the medical field when they probably shouldn't be pursuing one. By that I just mean that there are far too many nurses and doctors that we encountered who don't really care about their work (or the patients and their families for that matter). Their bedside manner is some of the worst I've ever encountered! It's almost like the economy and the need for a stable job has forced them to pursue a career out of necessity rather than out of it being their calling in this life. It shows every time a simple question or request is met with sighing, rolling the eyes, impatience, aggravation, and just a general annoyance with us. Ok, we get it. We're bothering you more than someone who's only in this for the steady paycheck is allowed to be bothered. Cripes!

In fairness, I should mention that there's a definite disparity though, which gets back to what my mom who's a nurse has been telling me for quite some time about the industry. The older, more experienced nurses and staff members are the most considerate and kind. They represent the "old guard" who began their career in this field because they genuinely wanted to help people. They still get it. It was sad (and embarrassing) to see some of them simply approach the younger nurses (the ones right out of school) about something, only to have the younger ones either ignore them outright, or respond with such ferocity that you almost want to leave for fear that your loved one will be treated in much the same way at some point if that's how they really are with their colleagues.

Look, I'm not painting with a broad brush here, but just trying to convey everything about this experience. Plus, you'll have to forgive me if my "filter" isn't working too properly tonight because I haven't slept at all, barely ate anything, and didn't have a single cup of coffee which is HUGE for me. Needless to say, I need to find a bed and ASAP. I also never intended for this entry to be so long. I just wanted to put up a little, "Isn't that interesting in light of my last commentary..." column here and it turns into this. So be it I guess.

Long story short, while Mrs. JRed will still have to experience some pain for the next few days the official diagnosis isn't as bad as we thought it was going to be. Praise the Lord!

Boy, isn't that just like our common enemy? He has to sit and just watch me react in a way that he probably never expected -- coming out publicly to admit my faults, shortcomings, and sins -- and then figures he better turn up the heat a little more, or at the very least do whatever he can to keep me from doing the very thing I said I was going to do, which is spend more time with the Lord and His Word. Oops! Sorry, but I still plan to do some of that before hitting the sack tonight.

Lord, I am still yours. Always have been, and always will be. While I know that I'm not as experienced when it comes to wielding the spiritual weapons of warfare you freely give to me there's a part of me that wants to stand up using what little strength I have, look him in the eyes, and challenge him if not simply tell him that no matter what he throws at me and my family I will never -- ever -- blame or curse you for any situation I or we find ourselves in. Never! Is that foolish? Is that wise? Should I even concern myself with that at this point, or just focus on drawing near to You instead? Ah-ha! Thank you for answering so quickly and clearly. That's EXACTLY what Satan wants me to do, isn't it? He wants me to keep my eyes focused on him rather than focused on You and Your Son Jesus Christ! He would've succeeded and scored another point because here I would've thought that I was somehow "doing the right thing" in standing up for You and defending my faith when, in reality, you don't need me to defend You at all, do You? In fact, it's me who needs the defending and You who will provide that defense. Man, this revelation that You led me to also seems to provide a nice commentary to earlier columns from this week and sort of echoes what a lot of us have been suggesting should be our appropriate, Christian response in the event of any kind of government tyranny -- thank You for that! The Subtle Serpent almost struck again, didn't he? Amazing too because now I have peace about this entire situation and when I first began writing this I was all over the map emotionally and not knowing what the proper response should be tonight before I close my eyes. I now know. It will be falling to my knees, thanking You for convicting me of my sins, praising Your unimaginable mercy and forgiveness despite my unworthy condition, glorifying You as Healer for helping my wife get through, and meditating on a few verses before turning out the light so that a new light can begin to shine within my heart and soul as I sleep, refreshing me and preparing me for the next battle; a battle that's Yours and Yours alone to fight and win on my behalf. I love You dearly my Heavenly Father. Amen.

One final note has to do with an email chain I was a part of somehow. I don't know Luke or his father John Bolger, but I received an email tonight that stated the following:

"Please help me and my family by praying for my father - He is awake - has limited movement (hands /arms) and is suffering severe delirium. He is acting confused and aggressive. Please pray that his mind settles down quickly. I can't thank you enough for all your prayers. I know God is working something here - but its very hard for my dad and my family."

Luke, I just said a prayer for your father, for you, and for your family.

Thank you all in advance for your prayers too.

I'm a mixed bag of emotions today. I want to write to all of you about this mixed bag of blessings and curses it feels like I'm carrying around these days.

There's an unfortunate trend in the American version of Christianity in this day and age that downplays the importance of admitting one's sins and seeking repentance, forgiveness, and restoration publicly because that somehow makes us appear "weak" or something. Oh well. I never cared too much for modern day "Churchianity" anyway.

I have sinned. No, I have been sinning. Some sins have been done without even knowing it, while others have been done knowingly. That's the part that really gets under my skin. And yet, it's under my skin, just below the surface, where this thorn in my side has resided all along, and where it looks like it will remain for the rest of my life. Despite everything I've learned from the Holy Spirit, there are times when I take my eyes off of our common enemy for just a second (worse, I take my eyes of Jesus Christ for just a second) and it's a second too long because that's precisely when the Devil always strikes. I know better! Or so I thought.

Everyone struggles with something: Anger; Arrogance; An adulterous relationship; Drug use; Eating too much; Impatience; Impure thoughts; Swearing; Lying; Pride; Pornography; Yelling at the husband/wife/kids; Gambling; Watching too much TV; Self-abuse; Self-righteousness; etc. The important thing is to recognize our sins, confess them before our Lord in humble repentance, and ask Him for mercy, forgiveness, and help in overcoming them. It's a process that should continue until the day we die as we should never become so confident in who we are that we begin walking a fine line between our constant need for Christ and the thinking that we can get by and do this on our own now.

Resisting temptation is one of the hardest things in life. Giving in to temptation is easy especially when you've developed a habit of succumbing to your weakness. The payoff in following your vice varies from temporary fulfillment to another satisfying step towards self-destruction.

Regrettably, I'm putting my work here on hold for a day...or two...or three. As long as it takes I'm afraid. My sincere apologies in advance for any inconvenience. This work, and those like you who I do this for, are far too important for me to continue doing what I'm doing as a severely wounded soldier who's in need of some serious medical attention.

Yes, I'd say I'm "seriously wounded" indeed at the moment, but in a spiritual sense and not the physical. Honestly? My heart just doesn't feel right; my heart's not right, or even in the right place! It was a shock to me too. Such a revelation scares me because, of course, the last thing I want to do is drift away from my Heavenly Father to the point where I drift back into old habits. Yes, I'm afraid that's what's been happening. I had no idea until just last night. Such are the workings of the Subtle Serpent Worse, Satan's fiery darts and temptations are bombarding me to the point where I feel like JRed is under siege; a surprise and sneak attack against one of God's children who thought He was finally free and clear of such nonsense after several years of bondage.

What makes man want to return to old behavior that he knows is destructive and will only lead to death? What is it about certain things in our lives that will constantly entice us no matter how much we pray, no matter how much we rely on the Lord to carry us through, no matter how much progress He's helped us make in those areas of our life? I can COMPLETELY identify with the following:

Psalm 138:8 -- "The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands."

They say "old habits die hard", but I thought that once we're dead to this life and our sins in Jesus Christ that those same old habits would die a hard death never to return. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong. Maybe it's not so much that those temptations to sin ever really go away because Satan is always looking to destroy us, but maybe they begin to lose their power as time goes by as the Holy Spirit empowers us and teaches us how to respond in the face of such things.

Neal A. Maxwell once said, "If we entertain temptations, soon they will be entertaining us." As an Angel of Light, Satan is especially skilled at making sin seem attractive to us. In other words, Satan prefers to employ subtle tactics rather than overt ones because disguised temptations are more effective in deterring and deceiving well-intentioned Christians. In his book Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis wrote that from the devil's vantage point "the safest road to Hell is the gradual one -- the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."



Again, let's just say that I can COMPLETELY identify with those statements. Lord, please have mercy on me and forgive me! I know it must grieve Your heart each and every time I succumb to a temptation no matter what form it takes. Jesus did everything perfectly, without sin. While it is the Christian’s goal to become more Christlike, we are fallen creatures, and I get that. Yes, we fail daily in some way, shape, or form in our attempts to live righteously. I get that too. In the words of Paul we "press toward the mark of the prize," but never do so perfectly. Yes, thank You for revealing that to me in this moment, but I still feel so defeated and hypocritical and unworthy to do much of anything in Your name until I can sort through this with Your help.

I'm sure that there would be many Brothers and Sisters in Christ who, if they knew about the specifics of my predicaments, would argue that I'm being too hard on myself and that perhaps this is Satan trying to weight me down and distract me from doing what the Lord wants me to at this moment in time. Perhaps. The thought isn't lost on me. After all, just like in times past, whenever it seems as though I'm reaching a deeper level of faith in my relationship with my Lord and Savior, or whenever I begin to do more and more work for His glory, that's the precise moment I am attacked. It never fails! But how do I get to a place where I no longer have to fear falling to the same temptations no matter what's thrown at me or when it's thrown at me?

The challenge for me lately has evolved. While I might be able to resist certain temptations to sin better than I was able to in the past (and, as a result, sin less than I once did) the trade off is that I feel even guiltier those times when I do slip. I beat myself up saying I should know better -- and I should -- but I often ask myself, "How many times will God forgive me for the same sin? How many times can I go through this same process?"

The Bible tells us:

Hebrews 4:14-16 -- "Come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need"

Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother and he thought maybe seven times might be a fair limit. But Jesus said "seventy times seven", which of course does not literally mean 490 times, but rather that the number of times are not to be counted (Matthew 18:21-22). This is our Lord's principle of forgiveness, and we may be certain that he did not bind it only upon Peter, but also upon Himself.

Perhaps the answer is that there is no limit on how many times you may ask forgiveness from God, even for the same repeated sin. This should not, of course, encourage us to keep on sinning. However, it should encourage us to keep on repenting, to keep on struggling with our sin (Ephesians 6:10-18), and to keep on bringing our sin to the Savior.

Still, even though I know that to be true I still can't help but to feel as if one of these times He'll simply say, "Enough of this! Enough of you! I've tried and tried to help you, but you wouldn't take my hand! I've forgiven you over and over again, but still you go back to engaging in the same destructive thoughts, the same destructive behavior! I'm through! We're done! I am turning my face and my favor from you once and for all!"

Now, before anyone tries to talk me out of my genuine and warranted feelings of regret, shame, and the desire to seek His face in forgiveness let's also consider another truth to this entire discussion. Though it is not a sin to be tempted, it is a sin to give in to temptation. Temptations come to the godly and the sinner alike, but what sets them apart is not the temptation itself, but rather the response to it.

Guilty indeed.



There is no limit on how many times you may ask forgiveness from God, even for the same repeated sin. This should not, of course, encourage us to keep on sinning. However it should encourage us to keep on repenting, to keep on struggling with our sin (Eph 6:10-18), and to keep on bringing our sin to the Saviour.

It's clear that sin originates both from the yearnings of our sinful nature as well as from the Devil. God does not tempt us.

James 1:13-15 -- "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone, but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."

The part that I've always struggled with understanding is what we're told in Corinthians 10:13, which states that "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." I believe God's Word to be true. I believe in His promises because I've seen many of them manifested with such amazing power in my own short life. So then why is it so difficult for me to see this promise and truth applied in my life and to my own situations?

Is merely avoiding situations, people, places, and things that would lead to various temptations an appropriate example of "fleeing from sin" just as we're instructed to, or is it just taking the easy way out, not really dealing with the issue head on let alone exercising the full power of the Holy Spirit in our lives like we're entitled to? This is what I've thought A LOT about lately.

Perhaps I've been going about it all wrong and that's why certain temptations keep rearing their ugly heads. Maybe I haven't learned how to properly rest in the Lord and rely on the Holy Spirit like I'm supposed to. Maybe I'm still relying too much on myself and my own methods (i.e. staying away from certain people; not watching certain TV Shows/Movies; not staying up late to surf the Internet on a computer that doesn't have an Internet Content Filter installed on it; etc.). Whatever the particular temptation, simply avoiding it isn't enough I'm beginning to think.

Hebrews 4:15 is where we find proof of this I believe: "He was tempted in every way just as we are--yet was without sin." Jesus demonstrated that sin can only be overcome by prayer, fasting, and studying the Word of God. Just like Jesus, the more in tune we become with the Word and the ways of the Lord, the more apt we are to be able to distinguish His voice from the enemy's in times of crisis. That's why I'm taking a little break from writing just so that I can immerse myself in His Word and hit the reset button in an attempt to restore the relationship I broke when I committed sin of my own free will.

At the same time, I don't think my problem is that I can't distinguish His voice from the enemy's. It's worse! I know that the temptations are coming from Satan. I know they will lead to sin if I engage in them. I know that sin leads to death. I know that Jesus Christ suffered a horrible death on my behalf so that I could be freed and forgiven from such sins. What do I do? I willingly engage the temptation because it's so powerful (and because there's a part of my heart that still loves it I suppose), follow it until it leads me to sin, and allow it to sever my relationship with Him leaving me feeling guilt and shame. That's what makes this so bad and what pains me to no end -- the fact that I do such a thing willingly time and time again (not as often as I did before finding Jesus, but still enough for this to be a persistent issue whenever I let my guard down) despite the fact that I know better!

Though resisting temptation is never easy, God promises to reward us for being obedient. I'll try to set my mind on this truth as well. For instance, when Potiphar's wife pursued an immoral relationship with Joseph, he immediately fled from her presence. Though he was later thrown into jail because she falsely accused him, God was with him and eventually enabled him to ascend to the second highest position in Egypt. Moses too made a decision that involved temporal sacrifices, but eternal rewards. Hebrews 11: 25 says that "He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time." As a result, God gave Moses the privilege of witnessing His miraculous hand of blessing for 40 years in the desert. I'm not the first to experience such things, and I'm certainly not the last.

I'm thinking of the "take every thought captive to Christ" command in...Even Science confirms this Biblical truth. Researchers from Duke University, the University of Southern California, and the University of Pennsylvania found that asking college students about their vices actually causes them to stop resisting temptation!

"We demonstrate that asking consumers to report their expectations regarding how often they will perform a vice behavior increases the incidence of these behaviors." Resisting temptation is difficult when you think about that which you're trying to resist! It's a self-fulfilling prophecy: the study participants thought they'd succumb, so they did. Resisting temptation was difficult because of their thought processes. Again, all the more reason to root myself even deeper into God's Word and to take every thought captive to Christ. READ MORE

I think I'll end this entry with a prayer:

Lord, I have sinned against You and You alone. You know the sins of my heart and mind as well as how those sins have sometimes manifested themselves through the words of my mouth and the work of my hands. Please forgive me! My heart is fowl at the moment and my motives are slowly drifting toward the impure ever so slightly. I had no idea! Please bring me back to the shore where You are so that I don't get lost and so that the fierce storms that are coming on the open sea don't consume and defeat me! My heart, oh how it pains me to think about the REAL condition of my heart and to stop fooling myself and ignoring the truth! So sinister in that it was so subtle, and here I am at your feet begging -- for what feels like the millionth time -- to release me from this spiritual bondage, this stronghold of sin that has set itself in my life for years. I desperately want nothing in my heart but a love for You, Your Word, and all things that You created that are good and that remind me of You! Surely, despite my obvious faults, shortcomings, and sins You know my real heart. Yes, the condition of my heart today is not what You expect or want from me. I know that. But the heart that it could become in honor, love, and reverance of You is what motivates me to become the Christian You want me to be.

I know You are completing a work in me and that there's no way of knowing how long it will be before You teach me how to overcome and live a victorious life in Jesus Christ on a moment-by-moment basis. Perhaps that's what this particular trial and tribulation is all about. I thank you for certain in-depth studies that have forced me to consider my current state of holiness and righteousness because without them I just would've continued on like the blind leading the blind.

I still say I'm a "babe in Christ" and that's to simply express my knowledge of the fact that I only began this life with You a few short years ago. I'm still learning my way in this world and learning how You want me to be, but that doesn't excuse my thoughts or behavior. I know better. It pains me to know end to think about how I've taken Your sacrifice for granted lately. Why don't I just laugh when I think about Your humiliating, painful journey to the cross on my behalf? Why don't I just spit in Your face when I think about seeing You hanging on that cross in my place? What's the difference!?! Isn't that what I've been doing in a sense each and every time I willingly give in to those temptations even though I know that they're wrong?

Please haver mercy on me, Your humble and unworthy servant. Please don't turn away from me. Please don't give up on me. Please restore my heart and mind until it is in accordance to Your will for this life. Most of all, please restore our relationship that I've broken.

I would like to end with the words that David penned in the Book of Psalms Chapter 51:

"Have mercy upon me O God, according to your loving kindness, according to the multitude of your tender mercies. Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin"

RECOMMENDED READING:
Jesus’ Example: Resisting Temptation
How To Resist Temptation
The Christian Who Has Stumbled
Can God Really Forgive Someone Like Me?

Score a point for Satan.

How do I know that Daniel's 70th Week (the Tribulation and Great Tribulation) is close at hand? All I have to do is turn on the news today and hear about a Christian church succumbing to what's politically correct rather than boldly proclaiming that they will continue to stand for what's right, and moral, and God's holy law.

The Lutheran church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to be exact, is lost. How else do you explain how leaders of the nation's largest Lutheran church voted Friday to allow sexually active gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy? In doing so, they have totally ignored the Scriptures as the guidelines for Christian behavior in regard to homosexuality.



For those who think I'm just contributing to the same song-and-dance and that "it's just like you Christians to always bash homosexuals" I would simply respond by saying that this is as absurd as any Christian church voting to say that they believe it's ok for people (specifically their members) to abort babies, to have sex before marriage, to commit adultery, to murder others, to steal from others, to lie and cheat, to view pornography, to physically abuse others, etc.

The bottom line is that sin is sin. God doesn't make a distinction between each one, or place them on different levels like we always do thinking that one is worse than another. He tells us plainly what sin is, and tells us plainly what the result of sin is. He tells us plainly and in no uncertain terms what's wrong and what's right. There is no room for compromise. Political correctness does not exist in His world because it's something Satan has succeeded in getting us to create down here to make ourselves feel better about sin and make it palatable on a mass scale. Again, plain and simple.

Luke 21:28 -- "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near."

Keep looking up because I'd say we're well beyond the "begin to come to pass" stage and more likely in the "about to give birth any moment" phase following those birth pains we've heard so much about over the years.

It's just so sad that the church is promoting a lifestyle that is not only a sin, but one which is also illegal in 48 states.

Red Ice Creations had a link up on their site recently about a disturbing commentary that appeared just the other day courtesy of a new religious news organization called Vision.

Vision is self-described as: "In-depth coverage of current social issues. Insights into the philosophical, moral and ethical values in society today -- health care, science and environmental news and articles."

Sounds innocent enough, right? That's because you probably haven't surfed over to their main page yet. The lead article by the Publisher has an excerpt that reads: "While democracy is our best hope against totalitarianism and oppression, it is no guarantee that some variety of dictatorship will not haunt the world again. The lesson that has yet to be learned is how quickly it can all happen, despite our best political hopes."

Ok, strange, but not so bad I guess, right? Seems like they're against the coming rule of the Antichrist and his forces. Look over on the right hand side of the page and you find a button that takes you to an article titled: Messiahs! Rulers And The Role Of Religion. Now, again, at first glance, that 10-part series appears to be quite honorable, and the goal seems to be that they want to warn the world (much like we try to do here) about the coming Antichrist. I mean, the byline to the series even supports this notion: "...explores history's ever-recurring rise of despotic rulers and examines how they portrayed themselves as gods in their quest for domination. This series looks at emperors and kings, tyrants and despots who succumbed to megalomania."

Great! On the surface, it all seems very noble and righteous and even as if they are trying to be the watchmen on the wall in a sense without being as overtly religious and Christian as we are here. Unfortunately, that's just the nice shiny candy wrapper though. Peel that off and you're left with a piece of candy that people will certainly eat, but one that will ultimately make them very sick in the end.



As Red Ice Creations duly noted after reading a commentary called "From Globalization To Global Peace?":

This is a scary commentary on the perceived "benefits" and reasons for a World Government. It’s incredibly naive and the author Brian Orchard takes the European style of government as an example of how the World Government should be run, even though the Eurocrats, the European Elite, their Commission and many corrupt MEP’s have built the EU on lies, deceit and fraud. See our related links for more. Also note that vision.org is sponsored and funded by "the Church of God", an International Community, a nondenominational organization that traces its roots to Sabbatarian believers in 17th-century Europe. Furthermore, did Jesus want a world government?

Exactly right. They don't hide the facts about their spiritual roots either. I read the piece myself in its entirety and came away with a slightly different conclusion. They never really take a definitive stand against Globalism and never even mention the coming Antichrist. Sure, at the very end of the article the author finally mentions Jesus Christ, but it reads in such a way that's all very "touchy-feely" and "New Agey" to me. In fact, I thought of how a guy like Maitreya will come on the scene one day and proclaim to be everything to every believer (i.e. Buddha, Muhammad, Jesus, etc.) and point to an analysis and commentary like that to support his assertion that we can now rest knowing that the One World Government he wants to establish is the very same one that Jesus (that he) said was coming so many years ago. Thus, millions will fall for the deception.

I don't know, there was just something about this news organization and this commentary that stuck with me and I can't quite seem to put my finger on it. Perhaps give it a quick read yourself and see how it affects you.

Aside from this eye-opening commentary on why a One World Government is a "good thing" (blows the mind, doesn't it, how any religious group could promote such a thing knowing fully well what the Bible tells us about that coming oppressive system of control?) they also feature Ayn Rand of all people on the main page too! That's all I needed to see to know this is most likely a very slick and sophisticated form of spiritual deception.

We knew this one was coming.

First, it was the Avatar teaser trailer:



Today, we get the full trailer, and our first look at the next film to contribute to the final phase of mass conditioning in the movement to convince us all that "We Are Not Alone".

Feast your eyes on the trailer for Avatar:



Let's ignore for a moment that these blue beings bear a strong resemblence to what's described in the Bible about the creatures ("Locusts") who emerge from the Bottomless Pit in many respects, and that they are even a dead on match for those evil mutant soldiers portrayed in The Lord Of The Rings franchise.

Let's listen to some commentary instead for a moment:



I decided to include the above videos of the trailer with an accompanying commentary for a specific reason. First, this new movie speaks for itself as to why it's important to our discussions here in the forum. Second, the guy giving his review makes some good points -- a few of which I think support a lot of what we've been saying and suspecting all along that sometimes when things don't make sense it's because there's another agenda at work behind the scenes.

What's Avatar about you ask? Oh, the usual. You know...

Avatar is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds, in a desperate fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people. More than 10 years in the making, Avatar marks Cameron's return to feature directing since helming 1997's Titanic, the highest grossing film of all time and winner of eleven Oscars including Best Picture.

Nothing too important, right? Just your typical Alien movie. Move along. Yeah right! It's weird, isn't it? It's like with each successive movie on this subject that comes out the ante is upped significantly. I mean, 2009 will probably be known as the year of the Alien/Extraterrestrial Movie. Just go back to the start of 2009 and look at all the blockbusters that came out with big names attached to them in some capacity and it will blow your mind. It's like this is the final push -- the final stage -- the the mass conditioning ans Psy-Ops process that's been underway for decades. Even the small screen is getting into the act more than ever with various TV shows ready to premiere in a few weeks too. How close is "Full Disclosure" and/or "First Contact"? And if this is a spiritual phenomenon and not an other-worldly one like we expect, then how should we be preparing ourselves just in case?

Anyone else view this as the appropriate book end to the whole Alien thing? After all, it was Cameron who gave us one of the first "Aliens-Are-Bad" flick with Aliens where the fear factor was palpable. Now, he seems to come full circle by suggesting that "Aliens-Are-Not-So-Bad-After-All; They're-Just-Misunderstood-Is-All" with this latest creation.

Regardless of whether we're right or wrong in our analysis, we spent a lot of time lately looking at the garbage that's coming out of Hollywood these days. The one common thread? They all advance the so-called "Alien Agenda" and bring us that much closer to the Great Deception.

By the way, The term "Avatar" comes from the Sanskrit word Avatāra, (Sanskrit: अवतार), which means "descent". In Hinduism, the gods manifest themselves into Avatars to restore balance on Earth, usually during a period of great evil. No significance in that symbolism, huh?

Plus, this isn't the only major motion picture scheduled for release soon having to do with this Avatar concept. In fact, it seems as if this whole "Avatar" idea is an important one somehow. Avatar: The Last Airbender is an upcoming live action film based on the children's television cartoon series and it's scheduled for theatrical release on July 2nd, 2010. The film is directed by M. Night Shyamalan of Signs fame (a film that connects the so-called "Alien/UFO" phenomenon with religion, adding a spiritual context rarely exhibited in such mainstream Hollywood movies). Have a look:



Hopefully, by now these things are becoming more and more apparent and obvious to us.

Our response? Pray for spiritual discernment. Put on the whole armor of God.

RECOMMENDED READING:
The Fourth Kind
Legion Ups The Ante
District-9 Blew Me Away

"This also requires putting on the whole armour of God as we are commanded to do in Ephesians, Chapter 6. And as we consider this, we need to remember that the armour is God's, not ours. We are not living in the 1770's. We are not at the beginning of our nation's days, we are at the end. So, if they take away your right to bear arms (your armour), then remember God commands us to put His on anyway. Does anyone think our arms are more powerful?"
--Tamara

Amen!

"Don't allow the left/right dichotomy to compartmentalize your beliefs or marginalize you as conspiracy nut. This rhetoric has been rampant for months now and appears, to be growing in it's dissemination in the media. It is right to question, it is human to disagree...any less, and we are the slaves they want us to be. However, this is the type of reactionary nonsense they wish to incite...don't fall for the trap." --Todd Campbell / Through The Looking Glass

"Don't fall for the trap" seems to be the direction I'm leaning in this entire saga involving burgeoning sentiment of political and social unrest in this country as I wait on the Lord.

For clarification as to what I mean by that please read Tamara's encouraging comments HERE.

Daniel 7:21 -- "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;"

I just wrote how all this chaos that's erupting across the country in regards to Health Care (and around the world in regards to other issues of concern) is precisely what the dark forces of this world want to see happen.

We recalled that establishing a New World Order under the "Order Out of Chaos" belief system is what's in play today, and it is that which proves we're so very close to the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week.

Have any of you been keeping up with the Hal Turner case? If not, an important bit of information was revealed today that should add quite a bit to our understanding of what's really going on here. No, by citing Daniel 7:21 I'm not implying that the person who is admittedly a White Supremacist is a "saint" by any means, but keep reading and you'll know why I chose to include that verse here.

Turner's Attorney said that the FBI trained Turner in how to incite others! Apparently, Turner had worked for the FBI from 2002 to 2007 as an "agent provocateur" and was taught by the agency "what he could say that wouldn't be crossing the line," Defense Attorney Michael Orozco said.

"His job was basically to publish information which would cause other parties to act in a manner which would lead to their arrest," Orozco said.

As stunning as this admission was it gets better (or worse I guess depending on your perspective) as Prosecutors have acknowledged that Turner was an informant who spied on radical right-wing organizations. Well, there you have it folks. We've come full circle now, haven't we?

It certainly makes you wonder about guys like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, doesn't it? These days, whenever I listen to them, even though they speak a lot of truth in exposing right from wrong and the hypocrisy that dominates the media and politics, at the end of the day they're also influential and powerful personalities themselves. Could they be "insiders"? Corporate shills if you will? It's plausible. I think back to how Rush never said a single word about the Obama Birth Certificate controversy in the Fall and lead up to the Election. Then, once it became really hot again a few weeks ago I caught him talking about it quite a bit. Of course, Beck's "expose" of the FEMA Camps was tongue-in-cheek too. He acknowledged their existence, but didn't go all the way preferring instead to just put the idea out there and then mock the concept that they'll be used against us one day ever so slightly.

What about guys like Alex Jones too? And dare I throw Steve Quayle's name into the mix as well? I'm just thinking out loud here is all. I'm sure some of you think I'm an "agent provocateur" too. HA!

I don't know, but this is just more proof to me that EVERYONE in the corporate, mainstream, "big" media conglomerate has to be taken with serious discernment no matter how often they tell us they're for the people and on our side.

What an amazing story to come out on Tuesday. It's coming folks. Persecution on a mass scale because anyone who is an decent, honest, hard-working citizen striving to uphold the truth and what's good in this world will be labeled a "Right Wing Extremist" in this country.

As Dave Welch of WorldNetDaily recently wrote, "We have no idea in America what persecution is. Yes, we are closer than we have ever been to opening the doors for true persecution, but we have not even begun to see what it looks like."

RECOMMENDED READING:
No Bail For Blogger Accused Of Threatening Judges
The Watershed Moment?
Making War With The Saints
Persecution Perilously Close

If you're the federal government concerned with keeping a watchful eye on those pesky "Right Wing Extremists" of the home-grown, domestic terrorist kind -- how do you do it?

Well, maybe you launch a sophisticated "Snoop Balloon" in the skies overhead to do the job for you and make things much easier.

Never mind the backlash from the public because you could just begin by testing these things in some part of the country that shares a border with Mexico or Canada. That way, you can give the "official" company line that you're using the latest in cutting edge surveillance and technology to monitor illegal immigrants and drug traffickers.

It's the perfect cover story because most people still trust their government even though their government distrusts them. I mean, after all, it's not like anyone's going to put two-and-two together and realize that if The-Powers-That-Be were really so concerned with border security they would've done something about it long ago like putting up a fence, wall, or stationed troops there.

Believe it or not, that's exactly what a company called Sierra Nevada Corporation has been doing for the last month or so. They want to test their product to see if they can sell it to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It's not often that a balloon makes people feel uncomfortable, but the inflatable aircraft that has been floating above the St. Clair River in recent weeks, across the border from Sarnia, Ontario, is no ordinary balloon.

Have a look:



Officially, the "balloon" is called an "Aerostat". It's a Helium-inflated aircraft that looks like a flying wing, and had been floating between 150 and 300 metres above the ground in Port Huron, Michigan, since the end of last month, until a storm damaged its fabric and it was taken down for repairs.

Bradley M. Lott, a retired U.S. Marine Corps Major General who is running the Aerostat testing in Port Huron, said the company's plan is to see what the aircraft can do and how it can be used in a variety of situations -- including for use in rescue operations after natural disasters or airline accidents. At least that's the official company line, but we already know that this will be one of the fun toys in the Antichrist's toolbox when he takes over, don't we?

Lott said the Aerostat was designed by the Colorado-based Global Near Space Systems, and built by Delaware's ILC Dover -- the company that built and designed the space suits that NASA Astronauts used when walking on the Moon in 1969.

Unfortunately, it looks like the poor people along the Michigan-Ontario border are North America's guinea pigs because flying drones are already scheduled to start patrolling the border next year.

And with that, privacy continues to pay the price in the name of security.

RECOMMENDED READING:
Balloon Near Border Raises Privacy Concerns

It's amazing to me to go back and read old political speeches, or to read political commentaries and editorials found in the major newspapers and magazines from decades past.

Surprisingly, a lot of what you find is still applicable today! That's because that while times change people don't. Ecclesiastes 1:9, right?

Now, before I get blasted for that statement I'm not talking about the individual who suddenly recognizes their sin, sees the light, and makes a decision for Jesus Christ. Obviously, we know that change is possible on a individual and personal level.

However, what I'm referring to are those people (most of which are in politics and/or a part of the elite Powers-That-Be) who will never change. That's because their greed and lust for power corrupts them to the point where they view themselves as society's gods and the political institutions they lead as their kingdom to be used to force unnecessary and unwanted change upon the people they're supposed to represent.

In any event, here's a look back at two politicians (one who is still making waves today) who were not afraid to call a spade, a spade and who told us what we needed to hear even though we never really took to heart what they were trying to warn us about.

Universal Health Care: Ronald Reagan Warns Us Against It In 1960!



Ron Paul - The American Power Elite: 1988 (Part 1)



Ron Paul - The American Power Elite: 1988 (Part 2)



Ron Paul - The American Power Elite: 1988 (Part 3)



Ecclesiastes 1:9 -- "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun."

This is where we get the "those who forget the past are destined to repeat it" phrase. I guess it's not surprising then, that here we are closing in on the end of 2009 (and the end of life as we know it) and all we can see all around us are echoes and traces to our past like ripples in time -- the American Revolution, Marxism, Socialism, Nazism, Space Race, Summer of Love, Dissent and Protests, etc.

When will we listen? No, not to politicians but to that voice within -- the Holy Spirit -- who is shouting at us right now to wake up, open our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds to the truth about what's taking place all around us and how it is directly connected to end times Bible prophecy.

Isaiah 49:1 -- "Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name." (emphasis mine)

Now is the time to decide if you will repent and seek forgiveness and salvation as found only in Jesus Christ, or if you'll go on ignoring that call (or continue to live a sinful lifestyle without regular repentance despite the fact that you're already saved).

I pray that we all make the right choice and that we don't repeat the sins of the past.

Three enemy armies were closing in on Judah, and King Jehoshaphat called the nation together at Jerusalem to formulate a war plan. He needed plans, a decisive declaration of action. Something had to be done immediately.

Instead, Jehoshaphat stood before his people...and poured his heart out to God in confession.

2 Chronicles 20:11-12 -- "Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee"

We are living in a time when everything is getting shaky and insecure -- and almost everybody is hurting in one way or another.

Hardly anybody knows what to do anymore. Our leaders don’t have the foggiest idea of what is happening to this world -- or to the economy.

The business world is even more confused -- with economists arguing with each other about what is coming. Psychologists and psychiatrists are baffled by the changing forces affecting people today.

You don’t fold your hands -- sitting around at ease -- letting God do it all! That is not what it means to keep your eyes "fixed on the Lord." We look to the Lord, not as people who know what to do, but as people who don’t know at all what they must do.

But we do know that He is the King who sits on the flood. He is Lord of all, and we know that even if the world breaks in two -- if it all falls apart -- He is a rock of certainty. Our eyes are fixed on a risen Lord. If we do not know what to do, our faith assures us He knows what to do.

Still not convinced about what our response should be during tough times and the most difficult of situations we could possibly face?

Listen to the words of Jonah: "Thou hadst cast me into the deep…the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me…the depth closed me round about…I went down to the bottoms…the earth with her bars was about me for ever" (Jonah 2:3–6).

Jonah had hit rock bottom, entombed in the belly of a whale. He was in a battle for his life -- filled with despair, shame and guilt. He was heavy of heart -- literally as low as a person could get. He thought God had abandoned him.

So, how did Jonah get out of his pit? Simply put, he passed the test!

Jonah 2:7,9 -- "When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord…I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving…"

Jonah didn’t receive any word of deliverance. He was in a hopeless situation, with everything about him dark and gloomy. He was ready to faint. Yet, when he came to such a point, he said, "I’m going to thank the Lord!"

In the midst of all his troubles, Jonah entered the Lord’s presence and offered up thanks! God answered, "That’s what I’ve been waiting to hear you say, Jonah. You’ve trusted me in the middle of it all. You just passed the test!"

Scripture says, "The Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land" (verse 10). With one command from Heaven, the fish spit Jonah onto the shore. And that burdened man must have rolled onto the beach shouting, "I’m free! I’m free!" He probably danced as he pulled the seaweed from his hair because he was already at the altar of thanksgiving!

When you have no place to turn, turn to thanksgiving. Thank the Lord for his forgiveness -- for releasing you from all past sins. Thank him for delivering you from the teeth of the lion…for giving you a new home in glory…for all his past blessings, for all his promises, for all that he is going to do. In everything, give thanks!

Psalm 92:1 -- "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High"

Psalm 50:14-15 -- "Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me"

SOURCE: David Wilkerson Today

Not everyone on this planet thinks that Aliens (if proven to exist) would be a menace here to hurt us, which is precisely why if you're in the business of Psy-Ops and mass conditioning the public to accept the coming reality that "We Are Not Alone" you need to play to the other side every now and then.

While most of the time we get bombarded with the "bad Aliens" theme as evidenced in the last entry of the soon to be released motion picture The Fourth Kind, every now and then you'll also find the "good Aliens" theme thrown in for good measure.

For example, the news that you can send a tweet to our Alien friends on Gliese 581 D fits this category quite nicely I must say.



From Universe Today:

If you've ever wanted to communicate with aliens, here's your chance. Cosmos Magazine is offering the chance to send a message to another planet, Gliese 581 d. This exoplanet is about 20.3 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Libra, and some have said if life is elsewhere in the Universe, this is the mostly likely place that we currently know about. It was first discovered in 2007, and astronomers say this planet is well within the habitable zone around its star, where liquid water oceans could exist. Cosmos is collecting short, 160 character messages to be transmitted out to the vicinity of Gliese 581 d with the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex in Tidbinbilla, Australia. Cosmos says it will take about 20 years for the message to reach its destination, and admits there is no guarantee of a response. If interested, check out Cosmos' "Hello From Earth" webpage.

Nice to see that both groups are well represented these days. Besides, why only set-up one group of people for the Great Deception when you can target everyone?

Boy, people are going to be putty in the Antichrist's hands if they don't wake up soon.

Thanks to The Secret Sun for this find.

Have any of you heard about a new movie coming out called The Fourth Kind, which takes the so-called "Alien/UFO" meme to another level?

Yes, it's another Alien film and this one is also in-your-face and that makes it quite similar to District-9, which we just looked at the other day.

It's called The Fourth Kind and Christopher Knowles adds his usual spot-on analysis:

It could just be that The Fourth Kind looks like a solid scarefest, Close Encounters meets The Exorcist. But it could also be that added AAT dimension (or the suggestion of it, with the cuneiform) is beginning to seep into the collective consciousness, no matter how desperately some still try to laugh it all away (the Brookings Report seems more and more prescient every day).

With that in mind, have a look at the trailer:



At this point, we need to remember what Bruce Rux said:

The idea is to influence public opinion, and if you want to influence public opinion at its base level and reach all the way into somebody's soul, you are going to use drama. So, of course, The-Powers-That-Be are going to be interested in that sort of thing. It's going to be extremely important to them. It's propaganda. Media is propaganda. Entertainment is media. In fact, it's the most important media precisely because it does reach into the soul. It's not someone being told something as much as it is someone being made to feel something. You can actually reach inside someone and create a feeling, or draw a feeling out of them, and that's what's really going to shape your opinions.

In addition, one visitor to Knowles' site made another brilliant observation about this trailer:

There seems to be an interesting bridge between fiction and reality; Milla introduces herself as a model/actress (reality), then cuts to the movie (fiction). This can subconciously embed into our minds and our memory will not necessarily discern between the two. The addition of the "reality" element in the film could render it as reality in our (collective) unconscious... Reminds me of the Red Ice post on how movies affect our model of reality; how information recall from film works.

Andre Heath chimed in on his own website: "Using the stylized documentary techniques exemplified in District 9, it seems that the aim of The Fourth Kind is to make you believe. The current subtextual narrative of movies emanating from Hollywood. Whether this is a method of preparation or part of a grand deception, the pervasive nature of this symbolism is continually being expressed, as we seem to be whirling in a pool towards a singular mythological convergence. The Fourth Kind will be released into theaters and into your consciousness on November 6th, 2009."

Assuming for a moment that this is one of of those films targeted by The-Powers-That-Be for a psy-ops campaign (you know, one that's part of the whole "mass conditioning" movement to some end or another), the first thing I thought of after watching that clip was the Web Bot's "prediction" of a pandemic of "sleepless nights" due to some malevolent reason as well as what's described as the coming "Alien Wars". Surely, that's an occult source not to be even mentioned in the same breath as Biblical prophecy, but I only mention it to demonstrate that those on the other side of the fence wholeheartedly believe this is coming. I have no doubt that Satan will attempt to capitalize on their beliefs if he's allowed to especially if it means deceiving millions. But I digress.

K.I.S.S.

"Keep It Simple Stupid" is what all the Sales and Marketing materials I read when I began my career after college told me. So, putting this into practice here I'd say what we have here is yet another Alien themed movie that will condition us to accept the coming Great Deception -- that "Aliens" are real, and that some of them want to hurt us really badly.

How's that for planting the seeds of fear that some sinister forces hope will one day grow into a full-blown panic on the streets of every major city in the world once "Full Disclosure" and/or "First Contact" happens?

Precisely the type of scenario tailor-made to fulfill the "Order Out of Chaos" prophecy on their way to establishing a One World Government system with the Antichrist at the helm. Not bad for a 2 hour movie, eh?

Fight fear with faith. Put on the whole armor of God and protect yourself from the spiritual deception that runs rampant in Hollywood.

RECOMMENDED READING:
District-9 Blew Me Away
Legion Ups The Ante

Last week, I spent a lot of time talking about the laws and regulations that are being put into place at this very moment that threatens to take full and complete control over the world's food supply, and even tried to outline why it's prophetically relevant as well as why we should be concerned about such political movements.

One such international governing body is called Codex Alimentarius and you can read all about this sinister program and the serious implications HERE to get yourself caught up to speed on things.

As some of you may know, the Commission held a meeting in Rome just last month where all the leading international representatives met for the last time before they begin to implement these guidelines on a global scale by the end of the year.

This is a short video that was shot by Dr. Rima Laibow the leading "expert" on Codex Alimentarius who is also leading the charge to not only try and educate the people, but stop this international cabal from enforcing such a sinister piece of legislation on the unsuspecting masses.

Report From Codex Commission Meeting - Rome 2009



Read carefully the sign at 1:35 mark. What they have done is allow 1,000 harmful additives and contaminants, and 3,000 harmful pesticides and drugs! Wow! What did the farmers of the world use to grow crops before these additives, contaminants, pesticides, and drugs were used? And if these additives, contaminants, pesticides, and drugs were not used, would we all starve? Hmmm...

And did you catch the part about how the United States is now the Chair of this Committee? Now, more than ever before, the U.S. is in charge of seeing Codex Alimentarius through to its stated goals. Fitting, isn't it?

Now, in the interest of "fair and balanced" reporting I should note that reader Reed A recently suggested I do some digging into Dr. Laibow and her husband who are leading the charge against Codex Alimentarius. Both of their websites, which I've mentioned in the past (Health Freedom USA and Natural Solutions Foundation) are run by her and her Husband, Major General Albert Stubblebine U.S. Army Retired.

He said that while what her and her husband are doing seems like a good thing (and that perhaps it is a truly valiant effort on their part), we should also look into Stubblebine's past because he is associated with some highly suspicious people. Some research suggests that there could be connections to people like Michael A. Aquino who started the Temple of Set which supposedly is the successor to Anto LeVay's church of Satan. Apparently, Stubblebine did a lot of New Age/Psy-Op work in the military and from what this reader understands both Rima and Stubblebine are big UFOlogists (the kind that want to welcome them with open arms because they're our "Space Brothers").

Of course, Raibow and Stubblebine could be oblivious to the possible connections between "Aliens" and The "Fallen Angels", but he has been into New Age stuff for a long time according to some evidence and we know that the people who are sometimes associated with his name are very shady and downright evil people. I agree with Reed's sentiments that we should just try to stay aware of these "facts" when we point people to those websites and their research. Then again, that could all be part of the attack to discredit them and their claims and research.

Lord, please help us sort through all the mud and the muck and get to the truth of this matter. Come to think of it, even if those charges against those two are accurate that still doesn't change the fact that Codex Alimentarius is an evil plot to exert more control over the masses. Heck, we can read the organization's plans for ourselves and draw the same conclusions that Laibow did, right? Anyway, I just wanted to throw that out there to be fair and transparent.

Folks, this is clearly Black Horseman type stuff either way and if nothing else it proves just how close we are to seeing the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride.

Luke 21:28 -- "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near."

Keep looking up!

RECOMMENDED READING:
Codex Alimentarius: Latin For "We're Screwed!"
Codex Alimentarius And H.R. 2795
HR 2749 Totalitarian Control Of The Food Supply
NAIS And Prophecy
RFID The Cattle First, Then Tag The Sheeple

This is the type of study that could quite conceivably make some of you so uncomfortable due to the implications that you'll simply want to ignore it and laugh it off as pure coincidence. It's the type of study that will do precisely what our common enemy Satan wants to happen -- generate fear, uncertainty, and hopelessness in hearts and minds.

I'm sorry, but I prefer to use this type of study to turn the tables on the Devil. I want to expose him by letting him know that there are people out here who do have ears to hear and eyes to see who recognize that the great conspiracy that began all the way back in the Garden of Eden might seem like it's going to be successful for him very soon even though we know it will be us who have the last laugh when we stand victorious behind our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Thanks to JoAnn G for this find! She pointed out how -- once again -- there seems to be a card within the infamous Illuminati Card Game that is a dead on match for something here in the real world.

Here's the image of the card called "Warehouse 23", which is about a secret facility that houses unusual "artifacts" that are believed to possess supernatural powers:


Why is that so odd? Well, simply because a new TV show premiered just a few weeks ago called Warehouse 13. Oh yeah, changing the 2 to a 1 (to make it 13 instead of 23) was the only thing that was tweaked because the show is about a secret government installation in the middle of nowhere that houses ancient artifacts that are believed to wield unexplained powers. What the heck are the odds, right?

Needless to say, this recent example convinced me that it was time to revisit this subject for those who are new here, or for those who are being exposed to this for the first time. My motto lately has been to apply the clear commands given to us in Ephesians 5:11 and Matthew 10:16 whenever I can to shine the light of truth on the darkness of deceit so consider today's commentary right in line with that approach.

Most of us are quite familiar with the 1995 Illuminati Card Game made up of something like 100+ individual cards each depicting something that would eventually turn out to be quite significant in the real world whether it be a person, group, place, or event.

What I mean to say is that there's no denying the fact that art imitates life. Actually, in this particular case, it's life that is imitating art it seems. How else do you explain the fact that this card game came out in the '90s and yet it eerily seems to depict events that wouldn't happen for another 5-10 years (including some that appear to be shaping up right now at this very moment)?

From Cutting Edge:

In 1990, role-playing inventor, Steve Jackson, was planning his newest game, which he would ultimately call the "Illuminati -- New World Order" Game, or "INWO" for short. Jackson was creating a game that would hit very, very close to home, very close to the actual plan of the Illuminati to propel the world into the New World Order -- also known as the Kingdom of Antichrist. As we shall show you, Jackson issued playing cards, three of which foretold the events of 9/11, three of which correctly predict future events just ahead of us, and two that correctly foretell the last two events that the Bible foretells will occur during the final birth pangs that will produce Antichrist!How did Steve Jackson know the Illuminati Plan so precisely? In fact, he knew the Plan so exactly he got a surprise visit from the Secret Service, who tried their best to shut him down and prevent him from publishing his game. As you will see from viewing excerpts of Jackson's account of the raid, they were very interested in his files entitled, "Illuminist BBS". Let us listen to Jackson's account of the raid [ http://www.sjgames.com/SS/ ]

Over the years, several different people have pulled what they thought to be the most pertinent cards of this game out of the 100 cards the game contains; David Icke selected a series of cards because they significantly tell the story of the Illuminati to produce the wars, the panics, the epidemics needed to produce Antichrist. This game was in the beginning stages in 1990 and was finally published in 1995, becoming a best seller. As Steve Jackson says on his website: "In 1994, he reworked the old faithful Illuminati to jump on the trading-card bandwagon. INWO (Illuminati: New World Order) became the company's biggest hit yet, and its first million-dollar ship." In fact, the "INWO" won the 1995 Origins Award for Best Card Game.

Let's look at some of the more infamous examples (again, reprinted from the Cutting Edge's phenomenal work on this subject):


"Rewriting History" -- Jesus foretold of unprecedented deception in the End of the Age. Jesus warned:

"Take heed that no man deceive you." Matthew 24:4 (KJV)

"Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many." Matthew 24:11 (KJV)

"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." Matthew 24:24 (KJV)

The Illuminati realized they had to deceive an entire population of people if they had any hope whatsoever of achieving their coveted New World Order. They realized that the public schools were graduating students who read too well, too widely, and communicated too well. These students generally distrusted Big Government and governmental authority. Clearly, the Illuminati had to gain control of the Public School system from the foundation upward if they had any hope of instituting a One World Government that would serve the New Age Masonic Christ.

As early as 1911, the Illuminati began buying textbook writing companies, until they owned them all after World War I. Once they got control of textbooks, they gradually began to "dumb down" the curricula and rewrite history. Today, students of public schools since World War II have received increasingly inferior educations, until now the population is largely academically inferior, is political herds of "sheeple", and religiously ignorant of the Truth of Jesus Christ. David Icke is correct in selecting this card and showing it first. Rewriting history was the first step in achieving the New World Order.



"Terrorist Nuke" -- This card is one of the most shocking of all, especially in light of the fact that this game first hit the specialty stores in 1995! How in the world did Steve Jackson know that the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were going to be attacked? In fact, this card accurately depicted the World Trade Center attack in great detail. This card accurately depicts several facts of 9/11 -- on cards created all the way back in 1995! The picture accurately depicts:

> That one tower was going to be struck first; this picture accurately depicts the moments between the first tower strike and the second.

> The card accurately depicts that the place of impact is some distance from the top of the twin towers. The plane hit in this approximate area of the first tower. How in the world could Steve Jackson know this fact?

> The card accurately depicts the Illuminati leadership by showing on the building to the extreme left of the card the Illuminist pyramid with an all-seeing eye in the middle.

> The caption at the top properly identifies the perpetrators of the attack as "terrorists"



"Pentagon" -- When I saw this card, immediately after seeing the Twin Tower picture, my blood froze! Unless one had advanced knowledge of the Illuminati Plan, there is just no way on earth that they would have been able to create pictures in 1995 that accurately depict the unfolding events of 9/11!

The Pentagon is shown on fire; we know that a plane allegedly flew into a section of the Pentagon and nearly burned that section completely. However, the rest of the Pentagon was undamaged to the point where its functions continued unimpeded.

Isn't this the situation depicted here? This card shows a fire burning mightily in the center courtyard of the Pentagon, but the rest of the building looks undamaged enough so that normal activities could continue unimpeded!

Thus, these two cards literally depict both of the strikes of 9/11: against the Twin Towers first and then against the Pentagon.

This kind of accuracy 6 years before the attacks is possible only if one knows the Illuminati Plan very thoroughly.



"Population Control" -- Even though the heading on this card says, "Population Reductionl", the scene depicted shows clearly the Twin Towers under attack. With the Twin Towers under attack, and the tops of them hidden by the black smoke, the New York Empire State Building is again the tallest building in the City! Further, notice that the smoke is shaped in the form of a demon's face. This is highly significant for several reasons:

> During the filming of the actual fire pouring forth from the Twin Towers, several cameras caught what seemed to be a "demon face" in the smoke.


> While most people were discounting this face as purely coincidental, two former Satanists called me within a couple of hours after those pictures were released, to tell me that those faces looked exactly like demons they had seen during a ritual when demons physically manifest themselves in this dimension! Cisco Wheeler further said that some of the most powerful demons in Satan's kingdom were known as Fire Demons; it was to these demons that the ancient peoples -- including Jews -- sacrificed their children to Molech. The appearance of these demon faces might be proof of what I have been saying -- that the attack was a Fire Ritual Sacrifice carried out by the Illuminati.

> This attack on the Twin Towers also was a perfect Satanic Fire Sacrifice, as we detail in NEWS1541. Many pictures abounded on 9/11 that showed a demon's face in the fire high up on the Twin Towers. This was not a coincidental phenomenon.

> The fact that this card shows a demon face in the smoke of the Twin Towers in 1995 demonstrates that the Illuminati planned to make the Twin Towers a Fire Sacrifice that would call up Fire Demons. This card predicted it, and the demons manifested themselves through the fire. Just as Waco and Oklahoma City were fire sacrifices, so was the attack on the Twin Towers.

> This card depicts a symbolic connection between the attack on the Twin Towers in New York City with the global plan of the Illuminati to effect a dramatic change in population! What possible connection could there be? This card may be telling us that the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center Twin Towers is the opening blow in the campaign to dramatically reduce global population. We know already that the 9/11 attack was the opening blow to begin the final "birth pangs" stage to allow Antichrist to appear on the world scene, as he strides out of the smoke, dust, and debris of World War III. Now, this card seems to be telling us that the attack on the Twin Towers is the opening salvo in the final stage of population reduction. Since the goal is to dramatically reduce population by four billion people, exactly the level predicted in the Book of Revelation, we should not be too surprised to learn that the judgments foretold of the Fourth Seal are now on the horizon, and in your Daily News. What are these judgments?

> Sword -- War, World War III
> Hunger -- Famine, clearly on the horizon
> Death -- literally can mean plague, pestilence [Amplified Bible Commentary]
> Beasts of the field -- Strong's # 2226 -- literally means "living being". This could refer to the many living pathogens about to be released upon the earth (MY NOTE: like the Swine Flu?) Revelation 6:8 (KJV)



"Center For Disease Control" -- "As its action, the CDC can supply Relief to one Devastated location ... If the CDC makes a direct attack to destroy a Place, it can use biological warfare and get a plus 15 to its attack." Don't you find it highly interesting that this game foresees the CDC creating and launching a biological attack on a "Place"! In the earlier part of this article, we posted the very important question as to who would launch a smallpox attack upon us, if Iraq, North Korea, al Qaeda, Syria, and other rogue states are unable to launch a weaponized smallpox attack; this card seems to answer this question: the CDC will launch the attack! Of course, our authorities will undoubtedly accuse either Iraq or terrorists for this smallpox attack!

Truly, if a sophisticated attack were made on our cities with a bio-terror weapons, the thinking American citizen would have to realize that only the Russians or the Americans possessed the capability of inflicting this attack. Remember when 11 of the world's top scientists in the field of DNA and in fighting infectious diseases started dropping dead almost exactly a year ago? (MY NOTE: I just highlighted in a previous column that the number is actually up to 20 now). At the moment the CDC is supposedly struggling with a bio-terror attack, these top scientists will no longer be able to do either of the following actions:

1. Use their expertise to fight this disease

2. Use their expertise to alert the world that only the U.S. and the Russians had the capability of inflicting this type of bio-terror attack. None of these scientists will be able to blow the whistle!

(MY NOTE: Just substitute "Smallpox" with "Swine Flu" instead!)



"Epidemic" -- "Disaster! This is an attack to destroy any Place. It does not require an action. Its power is 14. This is not an instant attack. If the attack succeeds, the target is Devastated." The wording of this card -- "not an instant attack" -- seems to imply that the attack will occur silently, with people getting sick at different times well after the attack. This wording seems perilously close to the New World Order Plan. Listen:

"Len: And this report went on to say that the experiment was considered a partial failure because they got a slow-acting virus rather than a fast one. They were allegedly looking for fast acting killers. Robert: Except that quick viruses are, of course, worthless, because they're too easy to defend against. I mean a very fast-acting virus is not any good ... Cold Springs Harbor put out a big thing on MMMV, that is, the 'maximally monstrous malignant virus' ..." [Dr. Leonard Horowitz, "Emerging Viruses: AIDS and Ebola", p. 106]

Dr. Horowitz clearly believes that the Plan calls for a slow-acting virus, one that will begin to kill people at different times after the initial infection.

We encourage you to read NEWS1752 for a complete explanation of the planned use of infectious disease to dramatically reduce global population and the historical fact that vaccinations have already been used to kill tens of millions of people.

(MY NOTE: Again, just introduce "Swine Flu" here and it becomes entirely plausible!)



"Goal: Kill For Peace" -- How did this inventor know to connect the appearance of Antichrist with the phrase, "Kill For Peace"? The Broken Cross is a symbol of Antichrist [Read NEWS1710 for full details], and of the Witchcraft he will practice. Therefore, this symbol means that the appearance of Antichrist is tied in with the seemingly paradoxical goal of achieving peace. But, God foretold this would happen, did he not?

"Through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many." Daniel 8:25 (KJV)

Thus, this card accurately depicts this prophecy! This picture ties in the symbolism of the Witchcraft inherent in the Broken Cross with the establishment of a "peace". Further, note that the hippie is finally getting his dream of overthrowing the establishment! The police officer in his uniform is on his hands and knees in front of the hippies, in a pose signifying he has been beaten. The ultimate goal of the Illuminati in the 1960's was to pay and encourage the counter-culture hippie movement in order to change attitudes and values of the youth so dramatically that, one day, the entire establishment structure would be overthrown. Hippie Abby Hoffman exclaimed about the Rockefellers who were funding him, "The establishment is buying a revolution!"

Now, the fulfillment of this old dream seems to be almost at hand. A violent overthrow of the Old World Order -- symbolized by the fallen policeman -- is absolutely required before the New World Order can be established. This card is a powerful statement of the coming new system, frightening as it is.

(MY NOTE: Reminds me a lot of the spirit associated with the current Tea Parties and Health Care protests and the "hippie" imagery calls to mind how surreal it is to also think that this is the summer that we've had so many references and "looks back" in the news to what happened during the '60s and '70s! Even my local County Fair, which celebrated its 170th appearance, had the theme "Summer of Love" this year! Bizarre, huh?)



"Rapture" -- Even though I was surprised at the detail of the other cards, the inclusion of this Rapture card shocked me greatly. The Rapture is something the Born Again Christians are aching for, not the Illuminati; but, then, I remembered an article I posted nearly five years ago, entitled, "The Rapture of the Church May Be Close, and Both Sides Are Waiting For It". In this article, I made the following very pertinent points:

Christians are mightily looking forward to the Rapture, based upon Revelation 3:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:4; 1 Corinthians 15:13-58; and others

Occultists are also looking forward to the Rapture, having been alerted by their Guiding Spirits that such an event would occur! Beginning in 1987, 'Guiding Spirits' of key New World Order leaders began to inform these human leaders to start preparing their adherents for a spectacular global event, that would occur just after The New Age Christ [Antichrist] will make his appearance. What was this spectacular event to be? As these 'Guiding Spirits' explained, when The Christ appears, there will be many people throughout the world that could never accept his views or his teachings. These people would prove to be a great obstacle in the way the New Age Christ wanted to move the peoples of the world.

Therefore, the 'Masters of the Logos' had decided, these 'Guiding Spirits' said, to suddenly snap these people into another dimension, soon after The Christ arose. These recalcitrant people would be retrained in spirit, so that, when they reenter the 'Reincarnation Cycle', they will be fully persuaded as to the merits of the New World Order. Of course, when these people get back to earth in reincarnated bodies, the New World Order will have been in full swing for several hundred years, and everyone will know then how wonderful the system of The Christ is!

On August 18, 1991, I was sneaked into a major seminar of the Boston House of Theosophy and heard with my own ears a very logical explanation as to why so many people were going to be suddenly snatched out of this dimension [Read NEWS1052].

The fact that the Rapture card is depicted in this deck of playing cards for this game, and arranged last in order by White Magic practitioner, David Icke, speaks volumes about the fact that, in 1995, Steve Jackson knew the entire plan of the Illuminati. They know that, after Antichrist arises, tens of millions of people worldwide are going to be taken in the Rapture; the Illuminati has already spun the lie that will explain this event to their followers.

Anyway, those are without a doubt the cards that get the most attention. However, I spent some time working my way through the images contained in the full deck and simply must share some of them here with you today because it demonstrates how The-Powers-That-Be have truly created a web of deceit and lies here that's entangled most of the world without people even realizing it.

Have a look at a few other questionable cards:



"Mass Murder" -- The bottom of this playing card reads: "A shocking news story distracts all media, and by the time it runs its course, the public has forgotten all about ... what WAS that issue, anyway"? Hmmm, I seem to recall a lot of over-hype recently when Michael Jackson died and especially when the Beer Summit was held at the White House.



"New World Order:End Of The World" -- The bottom part of the End Of The World card reads: "The end of the world is at hand! The millennium is coming. Real soon! Repent ... all Church or Fanatic groups get +2 Power; Fanatic Churches get +3 Power. All Corporate and Government groups lose credibility, and their Power is reduced by 2." The Bible tells us that, as soon as Antichrist arises, God is going to raise up two very special witnesses and an "army" of 144,000 special evangelists who will witness against Antichrist, urge people to repent, and speak of the truth in Jesus Christ. While they will not look insane as does this man, they will be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ. God certainly desires that people come to repentance during the reign of Antichrist. Eleven times God uses the word "repent" and "repented" during the Book of Revelation. Repentance carries a great deal of importance to God, as He desires to save men and women out of the clutches of Satan, literally "snatching them out of the fire", as Jude 23 so eloquently expresses. However, the Illuminati views anyone who urges people to "repent for the Kingdom of the Heaven is at hand" to be a verifiable nut case. During the Tribulation Period, people who urge others to "repent" will be mercilessly killed.

Others that I couldn't embed here include: Al Gore hugging a tree; Savings & Loan Scam; Yacatisma: "Space Bikers from Hell, coming from Orion on their Interstellar Choppers..."; Plague of Demons around Washington, D.C.; Robot Sea Monsters, which recall the "beast from the sea" passages and that whole "Jellyfish" business weeks ago; Backlash is an interesting card because it depicts an Obama-like politician at the podium; the obligatory Alien Abduction card; the Foreign Aid card with an Alien handing out money to only a few select countries; us Conspiracy Theorists; Feel free to take a look at ALL THE CARDS by clicking the link and see what you might come up with that I decided to leave out or missed completely. I'm sure there's plenty since I only made it through 100 of roughly 700 images (apparently, there were add-on, bonus packs later on).

What are we to conclude about all of this? Should we just throw up our hands or hide in the corner thinking that there's nothing we can do and that Satan and those loyal to him within high positions of power in the governments and militaries of the world have the upperhand? No way! Not a chance!

Look, the reason why these things happen is pretty easy enough for us to understand. First, Satan will always try to pre-date real world events in an attempt to discredit and mock the unique nature of prophecy as found within the Holy Bible. Think about it. If a "simple card game" is said to "predict the future" (even if only less than 10% of the deck actually manifests itself in the real world), then Satan will point to that as "evidence" that prophecy shouldn't be taken so seriously. If he convinces anyone of that lie, then it's a win for him. Game over.

Second, we have to always keep in mind that whatever happens is only allowed to with God's permission. He allows their evil schemes to prosper only so much as they will ultimately serve His purposes and plans for humanity. Satan is always plotting and scheming our destruction, yet, because he only knows that he will be successful at some point and for a time during Daniel's 70th Week (and not the manner in which he'll be successful) perhaps that's why there are so many plausible scenarios out there in pop culture and in things like this Illuminati Card Game. Sooner or later, one of them will be allowed to happen, right? Or so his thinking probably goes.

Anyway, once you understand what this New World Order really is (the prophesied One World Government led by the coming Antichrist), and how it is being gradually implemented, you will be able to see it progressing in the daily news! Once we realize that this is an entirely spiritual phenomenon rooted in the Satanic schemes of those trying to herald the Subtle Serpent's appearance and rule here on Earth, we will be able to protect ourselves and our loved ones by fighting with the spiritual weapons of warfare that the good Lord gave us.

Ephesians 6:10-18 -- "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the Full Armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the Full Armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints…"

Look, I know that it's tough to bring ourselves to the place where we are forced to conclude that a powerful faction of those tasked with serving and protecting us on a daily basis are responsible for most (if not all) of the ills of society. However, if we're Christians who study prophecy then we need to remember what we're told about the coming One World Government led by the Antichrist.

How could such a dictator and political institution rise to power so quickly unless there was chaos, death, and destruction all around us? A "conspiracy" makes perfect sense because it would be the trademark of Satan himself and surely plausible given the fact that we already know we're living in the end times.

Sure, there will be some who will look at this entire column today and laugh it off. They'll think it's "cute" and "strange" that there is a card game that depicts in stunning detail a real world counterpart long before we experience the real world version with our own eyes and ears in this world. But that's where their thinking about it will stop, and that's a big mistake.

In fairness, I get that for them to go any further would mean they'd have to stop lying to themselves about this life, and if they were forced to do that they probably fear losing what little bit of control they think they have right now. So, in the end, they chalk it up to nothing more than those "cute" and "strange" ways in which you can fold each sequential denomination of the U.S. dollar in such a way to depict the sequential images of September 11, 2001. What? You forgot about that one too, eh? Certainly, there's nothing for us to see there so why waste time on studying this, right?

God help them open their eyes and ears to the truth. God help us learn how to effectively communicate the truth to them. God help us all to rest in Him and learn how to wield the spiritual weapons of warfare that He gave us. We'll need them soon.