Luke 12 -- How to Interpret this time

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ZNP

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Luke 12 -- How to Interpret this time​
12 In the mean time,

Sounds like today. In the middle of March the city I live in was shut down and we have basically been practicing social distancing since that time. That’s four months, I feel like we are “in the mean time”; a gap in time between the previous age which is coming to an end, and what is about to happen.

when the many thousands of the multitude were gathered together,

Today, in this “mean time”, we have thousands of people gathered together on social media.

insomuch that they trod one upon another,

No doubt. On social media we have people stepping on each other every single day. That is after all what a viral video of a “Karen” is all about.

he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Oh yes, a warning about Fake news. Hopefully by now we are all aware that much of what you read on the internet is fake and is intended to stir people up to outrage. Whether it is Russia, or China, or White Supremacists, or Antifa, etc. Every single group has an agenda. These messages, stories and videos are just like leaven. The way leaven works is that it bubbles, these bubbles cause the bread to become airy. A video going viral is like a bubble. Many of these protests look like the people are frothy.

2 But there is nothing covered up, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 3 Wherefore whatsoever ye have said in the darkness shall be heard in the light; and what ye have spoken in the ear in the inner chambers shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

What a wonderful prophecy. It must have seemed impossible 2,000 years ago. In the 70s when I heard this prophecy I assumed He was talking about the Judgement seat of Christ. But now we have video cameras everywhere and police arresting a suspect in Minneapolis will be videotaped, uploaded to Youtube, shared on Facebook and viewed 100 million times by people all over the world. We are now in the fulfillment of this prophecy. In 1970 if you told me that a suspect in a counterfeit scheme died while being apprehended by the cops I wouldn’t have thought twice. But you see the George Floyd death and you get a very different perspective. Of course everyone remembers Ronald Reagan saying “We begin bombing tomorrow” as a joke when he thought the microphones were off. At the beginning of this age the Lord made this promise to us, and now at the end of this age we see it being fulfilled. Hunter Biden's laptop is the perfect example. There is a rumor that this "riot" at the capital building was a cover for a white hat operation to seize Pelosi's laptop. Apparently this was a military operation, which if they are investigating foreign countries trying to take control of the US that would be something for the military to do. It would also explain Pelosi becoming unhinged with this "impeachment" with only two weeks left to go while congress is adjourned. Anyway we have a promise that will be fulfilled before the end of this age that whatever you have said in private will be proclaimed from the housetops.

4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, who after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

The gospel of Luke is talking about social revolution. You can’t go down this road if you are afraid of death. It is very natural to be afraid of death, so instead you have to get a vision of what you really need to be afraid of: the judgement seat of Christ. Everyone is going to die, some live for 80 years, some live less. Jesus died in his 30s, and yet for 2,000 years we are still poring over every word He ever spoke. He squeezed more life, more word, into those 30+ years than anyone ever did in 80. There have been many martyrs in these last 2,000 years. We don’t control when we die, the only thing we have control over is today, make the most of today.

6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pence? and not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God. 7 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not: ye are of more value than many sparrows. 8 And I say unto you, Every one who shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: 9 but he that denieth me in the presence of men shall be denied in the presence of the angels of God.

Once you are truly fearful of that coming judgement your question should be “what do I do?” Confess Jesus Christ before men and repent for every time you denied Jesus in the presence of men.

10 And every one who shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven.

Everyone says dumb things at some point in their life, even Ronald Reagan. Confess, repent, move on. But if you set yourself to be one with Satan in opposing the move of the Lord to the extent you are claiming He is casting out demons by Beelezebul, well, I told you “it is on”. You need to back that up. You will discover that you are now fighting against God. You have just said that people are forgiven and healed by Beelezebul, you have chosen a side that has no forgiveness and no healing.

11 And when they bring you before the synagogues, and the rulers, and the authorities, be not anxious how or what ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: 12 for the Holy Spirit shall teach you in that very hour what ye ought to say.

This is another wonderful promise, take it by faith.

13 And one out of the multitude said unto him, Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me. 14 But he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?

The whole Black Lives Matter movement gets caught up in so many dead ends. This whole push for reparations is just one example. This age is all about overcoming the evil worldly system and bringing in the kingdom in which righteousness dwells. There is a price to pay. If you get your reward in this age you forfeit your reward in the age that is to come.

15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

I used to be fascinated by these big houses, fancy cars, etc. But then watching what that really means to those that have them you realize it is just a fancy prison. They are like birds caught in a cage. To have a word of life that you can speak in season, at just the right time, that is true wealth.

16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 and he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Imagine you were a billionaire in January of 2020 and then you lost $400 million, maybe $800 million with the stock market falling. You could have changed thousands of lives, you could have literally saved people who were starving, about to be evicted, or unable to pay tuition. You could literally have 2,000 people show up to testify on your behalf at the judgement seat of Christ, but instead you tried to hold onto that money and ‘poof’ it is gone.
 
22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. 23 For the life is more than the food, and the body than the raiment. 24 Consider the ravens, that they sow not, neither reap; which have no store-chamber nor barn; and God feedeth them: of how much more value are ye than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit unto the measure of his life?


“The measure of his life”. Isn’t that a great phrase? I suppose it refers to your legacy, only a legacy is the human perspective and “the measure” sounds more like God’s perspective.

26 If then ye are not able to do even that which is least, why are ye anxious concerning the rest?

This is just amazing. He is still talking about “our Father, hallowed be thy name” versus those that want the chief seats and most respected names. The Lord is still teaching us to pray and He is telling you that “anxiety” is the killer. We hope for things we don’t see yet, we must pray by faith, love is more powerful than knowledge. But, anxiety is a killer, it is not of faith, hope or love.

27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; yet I say unto you, Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God doth so clothe the grass in the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven; how much more shall he clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Again I will repeat “but now the LORD said, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” 1Sam 2:30 Let God clothe you. Trust Jesus, you can’t do better than that.

29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, and what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.

Doubt and anxiety, two killers to powerful, prevailing prayer. Do you know why we doubt? Because we are not aligned with God’s will. If you know God’s will and you know His promises and your prayer is aligned with that, you will not struggle with doubt.

30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: but your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 31 Yet seek ye his kingdom, and these things shall be added unto you.

This is a continuation on His lesson on how to pray. He said “seek and you shall find”. You need to couple that with “seek His kingdom” and “seek ye not what ye shall eat and what ye shall drink”.

32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Don’t be anxious, don’t be doubtful, don’t fear those that will kill you. This is God’s desire. He is going to make it happen. Look at how far we have already come. That group out on the National Mall, that was a "little flock". They are being threatened as "terrorists" and "insurrection" because they exercised their constitutional rights. But the Lord says "fear not" it is His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. What a comforting word.

33 Sell that which ye have, and give alms; make for yourselves purses which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief draweth near, neither moth destroyeth. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Do you know why so many people are screaming about reopening even though it doesn’t make any sense at all? Do you know why NY and the rest of the country shut down when we had 3,622 cases of Covid (March 15th) but are screaming that we have to reopen when we are approaching 5,000,000 cases? Their treasure is failing, the thief is emptying their bank account every day they stay closed, just like moths eating your clothes. They are revealing where their heart is. Wail, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow in ashes, ye principal of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are fully come, and ye shall fall like a goodly vessel. Jeremiah 25:34. In every pandemic the rulers and “shepherds” get slaughtered. The Black plague led to rebellion against the Catholic church and the Pope. It also ended serfdom. The great plague in London led to a parliamentary system of government. The beginning of democracy and the waning of the rule of kings. The Spanish flu led to an expansion of the middle class.

35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps burning; 36 and be ye yourselves like unto men looking for their lord, when he shall return from the marriage feast; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may straightway open unto him.

I just love some of these phrases. “Straightway open unto him”. It has been very clear from Christian forums that many were not ready to “straightway open unto him”. If you are all in you will immediately realize the Lord is heading to Jerusalem for the last dance.

37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and shall come and serve them. 38 And if he shall come in the second watch, and if in the third, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

What a wonderful promise. I have really dived into the news and social media and forums at this time. Everything is so confusing, trying to figure it out, looking at the prophecies, checking the public pronouncements with my own statistical analysis. Yet this is just one tiny little aspect, that so many are questioning this or that, trying to sow doubt or confusion. 2,000 years ago the Lord saw all of this, he saw those who would be sowing doubt and He gave us this wonderful promise. When I read verses like this I am just overcome, Jesus is Lord, there is no one like Him. Everyone else is distracted with the Antichrist, the mark of the beast, pre trib or post trib, and what is it that the Lord is focused on? Those servants who had their loins girded and their lamps lit and who opened to Him straightway.

39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched, and not have left his house to be broken through. 40 Be ye also ready: for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh.

This is all the rage now. Would Hillary Clinton have had a better response to the pandemic? Past presidents are coming forward and saying they had a plan, they would have prevented this from happening. Biden and Obama are castigating Trump for not taking responsibility for this happening on his watch. If only they had known the thief was coming! So much for the NSA and CIA and all the other agencies which were supposed to warn us. Should give you pause to see so many Christians mobilizing to “Stop the Steal” when the Lord prophesied about this happening at the end of the age.

41 And Peter said, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even unto all? 42 And the Lord said, Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall set over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will set him over all that he hath.

I have heard Christians say they don’t pay any attention to prophecy. You can’t know the day nor the hour, so what is the point? How are you supposed to know when to give them their food in due season? Simeon and Anna didn’t know the day nor the hour, that doesn’t mean they ignored the prophecies. They were ready, loins girded, lamps lit, and ready to open to the Lord the minute they saw Him. And they gave the people their portion of food in due season.
 
45 But if that servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46 the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth not, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the unfaithful.

I will not dare to say this about anyone. Already I have been accused of a whole lot of things I have never said. It is Jesus who is saying this, not me!

47 And that servant, who knew his lord’s will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; 48 but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required: and to whom they commit much, of him will they ask the more.

I like this term “made not ready”. The minute I realized this was the end of the age I began “making ready”. Other people are going stir crazy from being cooped up in their house for so long. I am so thankful for this time, it gives me a chance to “make ready”.

49 I came to cast fire upon the earth; and what do I desire, if it is already kindled?

Have you ever made a bonfire? It can take a full day to properly prepare for a good bonfire. Think of the fires we saw last year in California, Australia and Siberia as the fact that this bonfire has already been kindled. When you prepare a bonfire you don’t simply prepare the wood, you also prepare large vessels of water. Most people use this water to keep the fire from getting out of control, after they light the wood. Elijah is the only one I know of who used the water before the wood was lit.

50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

Two competing pictures. Baptism is to immerse with water, similar to Noah’s flood, and a type of Jesus passing through death. However, we have been promised that God would not judge the world again with water but the next time it is with fire. Jesus proclaimed the judgement on this world. He was then immersed in 12 buckets of water. Not just dead but really, really dead. Rising from the dead kindled this fire. At the end of this age fire will fall from heaven, just like the bonfire that Elijah built.

51 Think ye that I am come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52 for there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 They shall be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against her mother; mother in law against her daughter in law, and daughter in law against her mother in law.

The gospel of peace refers to peace with God, not the Satanic system. We are not here to make peace with those who rob widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers.

54 And he said to the multitudes also, When ye see a cloud rising in the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it cometh to pass. 55 And when ye see a south wind blowing, ye say, There will be a scorching heat; and it cometh to pass. 56 Ye hypocrites, ye know how to interpret the face of the earth and the heaven; but how is it that ye know not how to interpret this time?

Atheists are the biggest hypocrites. I studied geology in college and in graduate school. Science is all about how to interpret the face of the earth. Atheists use science continually to dispute with those about the Bible. They love to claim that the account of Noah is not true until you present the scientific observations on the face of the Earth that confirm the account. Then it becomes clear they don’t care about the evidence, they play dumb. For example, how do scientists know that the flood waters were about 40 meters deep? You can calculate this from the ripple marks. The ripple marks from the flood were so big that we didn’t even know they were ripple marks until we flew over them in an airplane. How do they know that the meteorite that struck the Indian ocean was at the same time as the end of the last ice age and the time of Noah’s flood? Little sea shells from the bottom of the ocean were washed up onto Madagascar in the Tsunami, creating thousand foot high walls of sand called chevrons. We have carefully catalogued sea shells, we know how old they are and we know they are from the deep ocean. It is the same with this time, the Bible has many words concerning this time.
 
Evidence that this is the Festival of Trumpets​

Matthew 24 -- Five signs of His coming

V.14 -- And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come.


the gospel of the kingdom is preached to the whole world. This is via the internet, youtube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. The pandemic has played a vital role in pushing Christian fellowship online. 2,000 years ago it was a key step in the ultimate goal that the Father’s name would be hallowed on Earth as it is in heaven.

V. 15 -- When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place.

Temple is rebuilt and Antichrist is in the temple, which will signal the start of the Great tribulation. We are not there yet. First we will need the UN to approve the peace treaty giving Israel authority over Jerusalem. That will be the official start to the last seven years, the tribulation. Then they need to rebuild the temple, that would be a very great trumpet blast to the entire Body of Christ. They cannot dedicate the new temple without sacrificing a Red Heifer. It took many years to get one, but Israel now has two Red Heifers that the priests have certified. They will be ready to sacrifice in a year, at the moment they are still too young. The Festival of Trumpets is to precede the great tribulation to wake people up and turn them to repentance and to proclaim all the wonderful things the Lord has done.

V. 27 -- For as lightning flashes in the East and is visible to the West --

CNN and satellite TV, the signals are transmitted at the speed of light on fiber optic cables. This is like setting up everything for the inauguration. When you see them setting up the stand for the President’s inauguration you know the day is near. CNN and the Gulf war was a dress rehearsal. That was the first example of lightning flashing in the East and shining unto the West.

V. 28 -- Wherever the carcass is there the vultures will be gathered together.

Eagles and vultures are both in the same family: Accipitridae. During the first Gulf war all the vultures, all the birds of prey were arrayed against Iraq in the desert. Iraq was the carcass, the coalition forces were the vultures.

V. 32 -- Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender, and putteth forth its leaves, ye know that the summer is nigh;

The fig tree is a national symbol of Israel, when the nation was reformed in 1948, when they recaptured Jerusalem in the six day war, and when the peace treaty is signed by the UN giving them authority over Jerusalem that will signal the start of the last seven years of this age. They are working on this peace treaty at this very moment. When the UN signs that treaty it signifies the beginning of the 70th week, the last 7 years of this age, commonly referred to as the Tribulation.

Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. 25 Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the anointed one, the prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troublous times. 26 And after the threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be cut off, and shall have nothing: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined. 27 And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate.

The context of the entire prophecy is Jerusalem. One week means 7 years. Daniel says that 69 weeks equals the time from the decree until Jesus would be crucified. It was 483 years from the time that the decree was made to rebuild Jerusalem until the day Jesus was crucified.
The Rapture is not one of the five signs:

36 But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. 37 And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. 38 For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 39 and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man. 40 Then shall two men be in the field; one is taken, and one is left: 41 two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left. 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh.

He compares the rapture to the day that Noah entered the ark. You don’t know the day or the hour of the rapture, and when it happens it is now too late to enter the ark. Stop wasting your time with all this “pre trib”, “post trib” trivial debate. However, Noah prepared for that flood and when the time came He and his family entered the ark and shut the door. They warned the people, they were mocked and ridiculed, but then he was vindicated as a man of faith. Also His word to "watch therefore for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh" is very telling. The Bible does not tell us on what day, but it does give us signs that we can watch and realize that the day is approaching. The Festival of Trumpets is known as the day in which "you don't know the day nor the hour" because the day did not start until two witnesses confirmed they had seen the new moon. This is why He says that since we don't know the day nor the hour we have to watch.
 
The festivals are a shadow of things to come. ​

Colossians 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a sabbath day: 17 which are a shadow of the things to come;

Significance of the Festival of Trumpets The Feast of Trumpets came ten days before the Day of Atonement. It was on a New Moon, and was a solemn Sabbath, the day was for the blowing of trumpets throughout all Israel. When the people heard the trumpets, they knew that the great, solemn Day of Atonement was coming. The trumpets are a warning of the coming day of judgement, they were to wake you up so that you could reflect on the year (the age), repent, rejoice, and herald in the coming King.
Description of the festival of trumpets in Joel

2:1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of Jehovah cometh, for it is nigh at hand.

Joel is a prophet who tells you when the festival of Trumpets begins. In Chapter 2 Verse 1 and then again in verse 15 he says to blow the trumpets. Joel tells us this plague was a trumpet blast for the Festival of Trumpets to alert you that the king is coming. In the US we heard this trumpet blast of the pandemic on March 15th, ten months ago. That was when they shut down the schools in NY and we began the shutdowns across the country.

Description of the pandemic -- chapter 1 describes a plague of palmer worms followed by locusts, followed by canker worms and ultimately caterpillars which completely decimate the agricultural economy. This event is to wake up those who sleep and cause the drunkards to repent. He says the day of the Lord is near, which is the point of the festival of trumpets, and then he says to blow the trumpets.
Description of social distancing -- in chapter 2 he goes into even more detail. He describes them as an army of God. But he says they come from the north which is not where locusts come from for Israel. He says they are able to climb the walls, get in through the windows, and describes them like a forest fire. They leap from one hot spot to the next. He says our weapon against them is to march every one in their ranks and no one thrusts one upon another (a vivid description of social distancing) yet they break through. And he says the “stars withdraw their shining”. No more baseball, or basketball or rock concerts, all the stars have withdrawn their shining.

We have had other pandemics

1300s -- Ghengis Khan launched dead bodies over the wall to spread the black plague in Europe. That plague did away with serfdom in Europe. So it ended an age. It also resulted in people questioning the authority of the Pope and the church which led to the Protestan reformation. The Festival of Trumpets took place as a yearly feast, so it did happen again and again. We have a science of fractals where we can see the exact same pattern in small things and in large things.

Fractals are infinitely complex patterns that are self-similar across different scales.

This is what the feast days were, a shadow of things to come. They gave us a complex pattern that gets repeated on different scales.

1600s -- Great plague in London. This went a long way towards doing away with the rule of kings and opening the door for a parliamentary government.

1900s -- The Spanish Flu led to the expansion of the middle class.

All three of these have one thing in common, they bind the strong man so that His house can be plundered.

Joel 2:12 Yet even now, saith Jehovah, turn ye unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto Jehovah your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14 Who knoweth whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal-offering and a drink-offering unto Jehovah your God?

They did repent and God did relent and left a blessing. So then, why is this pandemic different? If you read Amos chapter 7 twice the prophet sees a catastrophic plague that might wipe out mankind, he cries out to God to spare them and God relents. But, the third time God says --

I am setting a plumb line among my people I’ll spare them no longer Amos 7:8.

The building of the temple of God is the point at which He draws the line. Those earlier pandemics were warnings for us to repent, but when you read Amos you see the 6 sins He is judging the world for that they didn’t repent of. The 6 sins on which the day of judgement will be based are enumerated in Amos. Each of these is a violation of the covenant with God and government to be responsible for catching and convicting murderers.

Torture -- Amos 1:3-5. Abu Ghraib is merely one example that we are all aware of that we have not repented of this sin.

Imperialism -- Amos 1:6-8. The US forced Taiwan to buy American made cigarettes at the same time we are outlawing them in the US. When we learned that the companies had manipulated cigarettes to turn them into highly addictive vectors of cancer we began passing laws to protect the US citizens from them. But at the same time we wouldn’t sell airplanes for Taiwan to defend themselves unless they bought these cigarettes and sold them to their people.

Broken treaties -- Amos 1:9-10. The US broke treaties with the Native Americans. God is a covenant God, this is not something He can overlook.

Genocide -- Amos 1:11-12. The US committed genocide with the Native Americans.

Abortion -- Amos 1:13-15. Tens of millions have been aborted. I could go into great detail on how this sin is condemned by the Bible and how God says this sin of sacrificing your seed is why He dispossessed the nations before Israel.

Slavery -- Amos 2:1-3. Whenever someone starts enumerating the sins of the US I always dread that they will bring up slavery. Is that fair? First of all not all the states had slavery, and then in the ones that did only 25% of the people had slaves, and then when you are talking about plantation owners with 100 or more slaves it was only about 3%. So is it really fair to go back several hundred years and dig up some cursed plantation owner and say the entire US is cursed because of this guy? Even God, right here in Amos condemns doing that! Of course slavery was cursed, but were these men who were made in the image of God cursed because of the US, or were they cursed by God? Oh yeah, Moab, they were amateurs, they only went back one or two generations to justify themselves, we went back much further than that. We went back to before there even was a New World, before Jesus, hey we even went back before Moses, we went all the way back to Noah. We dug up Ham, and believe it or not, that is why all these people thousands of years later were cursed! Did we stop there? No, no, no we then brought out our witch doctors with their mumbo jumbo science as a racial justification. Burning bones to ash? That is kid’s stuff. We put those ashes into baby food. By the 1950s you could put two dolls before a young child, one black the other white, and ask which is the pretty one, which is the smart one, which is the good one and they would point to the white doll. Which one looks like you? They would point to the black doll. Which one is ugly and stupid? They would point to the black doll. Do you really think this generation will escape the judgement and wrath of God?

You might wonder why I make a big deal over the US, what about other countries. I am sure that if you dig down you can find a Pol Pot, or a Rwandan genocide, or even a holocaust in the history of other nations. When God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah Abraham pleaded that if he could find 10 righteous people He would relent. God agreed. Sorry, couldn’t find 1 righteous nation on this Earth. Isaiah 10 says that God would use one nation as a rod to discipline all the other. The US has been used as a policeman for the rest of the world. Then the Lord says in Isaiah 10 that this nation becomes proud thinking they did this on their own so the Lord will discipline them just as He previously used them to discipline others. The US will be disciplined just as the US disciplined Iraq.

This pandemic has caused thousands of Christians to post messages preaching the gospel of the kingdom online, and many, many more people to read and view these messages worldwide. That never happened in previous pandemics.
 
This pandemic changes the equation for the peace treaty:

The Palestinians have been told to sign the treaty or else Israel will annex their land. In the past the Palestinians have had 3 ways in which to stop Israel.

1. Go to Iran -- check the news. Iran is being hit harder by the pandemic than any other country. They recently said that the true numbers of people who have gotten the disease could be 10 or 20 times higher.

COVID-19: Iranian Think Tank Says Infection Figures Likely Much Higher; Turkmen Soccer League Resumes

Oil has taken a huge hit with vehicle miles travelled down about 30-40%. It is very easy to enforce an embargo with a surplus of oil. Iran is virtually totally dependent on oil exports for currency with which to do foreign trade.

Also, with trade down 30% or more it makes it much easier for border security from the US and Israel to make sure Iran is not sneaking supplies to Hezbollah or the Palestinians. As a result they are hardly making a peep about this.

2. If they can't go to Iran they go to the UN. How can the UN send peacekeepers to Israel with the pandemic raging, especially in Israel. It is very easy in this environment of quarantines and lockdowns for countries to refuse to send anyone.

3. If all else fails they ask Opec for an oil embargo. With an oil glut and oil sales down 30-40% there is no way they are going to do an embargo. That would simply give Russia, Venezuela, Nigeria and the US a chance to regain lost market share. Besides, every oil exporter is hurting from the pandemic.
So then the Palestinians are given a choice -- "you can sign the peace treaty or else Israel will annex your land"

Jonah describes the protests from Black Lives Matter as well as Climate change and the ethical treatment of animals.

I go into detail here: https://www.christianforums.com/blogs/jonah-and-black-lives-matter.62837/

Nahum describes the ultimate judgement. The process is simple. You sin, God warns you, some repent, and then some waffle on the repentance thinking God will be mocked, finally God is not mocked, whatever you sow you shall reap.

https://www.christianforums.com/blogs/nahum-god-is-not-mocked-whatever-you-sow-you-shall-reap.62856/

Obadiah tells us when the day of the Lord is near

Mortgage crisis -- “too big to fail”, put that on the tombstone of the banks. Just like the boast concerning the Titanic, “the ship that even God could not sink”.

God will bring them down, He will rob them. He describes it saying “they will drink, and drink, and drink”. Because of the Covid crisis law courts are closed and there is a moratorium on evictions. Businesses aren’t paying rent, and people aren’t paying rent, so landlords aren’t paying mortgages. There is a saying “if you owe the banks $1 million you have a problem, if you owe them $1 billion the banks have a problem”. You think the Lord is going to sit by while they openly robbed widows of their houses and then the government bailed out the crooks?

The details are here: https://www.christianforums.com/blogs/obadiah-how-do-we-know-when-the-day-of-the-lord-is-near.62721/

57 And why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?

I have come to the conclusion that state legislatures, governors, election officials, judges, federal legislators and even the Supreme court were given a chance to judge what is right and refused.

58 For as thou art going with thine adversary before the magistrate, on the way give diligence to be quit of him; lest haply he drag thee unto the judge, and the judge shall deliver thee to the officer, and the officer shall cast thee into prison. 59 I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the very last mite.

Don’t wait till you are dragged before the judge. Go to Jesus now, “I was wrong, have mercy on me Lord!” This is what the Festival of Trumpets is all about. “Prepare to meet thy God”. Now is the time to repent, not at the judgment seat of Christ.

Everyone is sure that Trump and this election is not just dead, but really, really dead. Not good enough that they certified the election, not good enough that Trump conceded, no they also want to impeach him and declare him unfit for office. It almost reminds me of Elijah pouring water from 12 pitchers onto the wood he had arranged. The only thing missing is fire falling from heaven. Now if fire does fall from heaven this week and the people praying for justice are raised like Lazarus from the dead (type of the rapture) that would be different. Then I would agree that it was indeed like the story with Elijah.
 
What we are seeing today with this battle between "the Left" and "the Right" is the same thing we saw with the Maccabees that Hanukkah celebrates. It was a cultural war to stamp out the worship of God then and also now. There is some dispute as to the date of this festival. If you use the Jewish calendar it was a month ago, however if you use Enoch's calendar we are actually right in the middle of Hanukkah right now. Paul used this festival of 8 days of light and the background of this battle between Antiochus (a type of the antichrist) and the Jews as the outline for 2Corinthians a book that reveals the New Testament ministry.

The New Testament ministry is composed of two main goals. We are being transformed into the likeness and glory of the Lord. We refers to the church. Also, we are warning people to repent and leave the satanic worldly system that has been condemned by God. At the end of the age the tares will be gathered into bundles and tossed in the fire while the wheat will be raptured to the barn in the heavens.