Christian doctor to have case heard at UK tribunal

A Christian doctor who lost his job for refusing to use trans pronouns will appear before a tribunal in the United Kingdom to challenge a ruling that held that biblical beliefs on gender are “incompatible with human dignity” and not “worthy of respect in a democratic society.” Dr. David Mackereth, a physician who in July 2018 was forced out of his job in the Department of Work and Pensions, will challenge the ruling at the Employment Appeal Tribunal in London.

“My case affects everyone, not just me and Bible-believing Christians, but anyone who is concerned by compelled speech and transgender ideology being enforced on the NHS and other public services,” Mackereth said in a statement. “The judgment from two years ago said to Christians, ‘you have to believe in transgender ideology.’ That is totalitarianism. It made out Christianity to be nothing, the Bible to be nothing. That cannot be allowed to stand.”

The case comes about a week after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told members of Parliament that “when it comes to distinguishing between a man and a woman, the basic facts of biology remain overwhelmingly important.” In the two-day hearing, lawyers are expected to cite Maya Forstater’s tribunal victory last June, maintaining that an earlier decision against her “erred in law.” Forstater served as a senior researcher at a think tank in London and was fired in 2019 for tweeting that “men cannot change into women.” She criticized the decision to house a trans-identified biological male in a woman’s prison.

In 2018, Mackereth was terminated as a medical assessor after refusing to identify clients by their chosen gender identity. In 2019, he took his case to an Employment Tribunal in Birmingham, claiming harassment and discrimination based on his Christian beliefs. Mackereth said during proceedings that he was asked in a conversation by his line manager: “If you have a man six foot tall with a beard who says he wants to be addressed as ‘she’ and ‘Mrs,’ would you do that?” And Mackereth replied that in good conscience, he could not. His contract was subsequently terminated. But the tribunal ruled in October 2019 that the Department for Work and Pensions had not breached the Equality Act of 2010 by firing the physician, who now works as an NHS emergency doctor. “A lack of belief in transgenderism and conscientious objection to transgenderism in our judgment are incompatible with human dignity and conflict with the fundamental rights of others,” the judgment read.

The Christian Legal Centre argues that the employment judge “effectively put ‘transgender rights’ ahead of freedom of conscience.” The legal group contends that the consequence of the decision is that it “authorized employers to compel Christians to use pronouns preferred by customers who believe in gender-fluidity. It is believed to be the first time in the history of English law that a judge has ruled that free citizens must engage in compelled speech,” a statement from the Christian Legal Centre reads.

Mackereth believes that NHS employees are “being forced to accept a massive change to our concept of the medical reality of sex, with no scientific basis for that change. No doctor, or researcher, or philosopher, can demonstrate or prove that a person can change sex,” Mackereth said. “Without intellectual and moral integrity, medicine cannot function and my 30 years as a doctor are now considered irrelevant compared to the risk that someone else might be offended.” As Christians are called to be “love all people,” Mackereth asserts that followers of Christ can’t “love people truly when we live and disseminate a lie.”

Christian Legal Centre Chief Executive Andrea Williams said if the judgment against her client is upheld, it will have “seismic consequences” for “anyone in the workplace who is prepared to believe and say that we are created male and female. The teaching of Genesis 1:27 is repeated throughout the Bible, including by Jesus Christ himself. It is fundamental to establishing the dignity of every human person but is, in a bizarre ironic twist, being branded as incompatible with that dignity,” Williams said.

Pray- Pray that this left-leaning push to drive out the Biblical foundation of man and woman will be defeated and order will again be restored.

Pandemic Opened Door for Greater Persecution Around the Globe

A new survey is slated to reveal how adverse treatment of certain religious groups in several countries significantly worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. The SMART survey, conducted as part of the Religious Freedom Institute’s Freedom of Religious Institutions in Society (FORIS) Project, was designed to fulfill an “unmet need for policy-relevant data to identify, understand and address religious freedom restrictions on religious communities across the globe.”

Rebecca Shah, a senior fellow at the Archbridge Institute and principal investigator for the Religion and Economic Empowerment Project (REEP), elaborated on the results. “The SMART survey stands for Simple, Meaningful, Accessible, Relevant and Timely,” she said. While the survey initially received funding to question experts on the ground about the state of religious freedom in Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia and Iraq, the survey was later expanded to other countries, about 10 countries, including India, Egypt, Mexico, Turkey and Greece.

According to Shah, “policymakers … needed reliable reports that drew on the deep expertise of individuals who could analyze religious freedom violations on the ground in key global locations and provide policymakers with real-time and reliable data on strategic countries.” While “a lot of reports on religious freedom restrictions, both individuals and religious institutions,” existed prior to the SMART survey, Shah stressed the need for “information that comes from local experts on the ground in their own countries, rather than, say, somebody’s desk in Washington, D.C., or Geneva.” She contended that the findings of such a survey were “more likely to be owned by actors in the country and in the region.” The “local experts in these different countries” who participated “were asked to fill out the survey from the perspective of a minority religious community or a majority religious community” based on expertise or membership in a particular religion.

“We started the survey before the pandemic, but as soon as the pandemic hit, we were able to retool the questionnaire to some extent and resubmit the questions to the experts and ask them to fill out COVID-related questions. And so, a lot of the data we got was over the COVID-19 period … at the height of the Delta variant and others, where we were able to examine and explore the impact of restrictions on religious communities as the pandemic was ongoing,” Shah said.

The survey found “an increase in deliberate and direct attacks on houses of worship … and religious and charitable and other religious institutions across the globe.” Specifically, “In Nigeria … 85.7% of respondents writing about minority Christian communities in northern parts of Nigeria said they were aware of direct attacks of houses of worship in their country. In Iraq, 30% of respondents reporting about minority communities, which included Yazidis and Christians, said they were aware of attacks on houses of worship in their countries. Again, when asked who, in their view, were the perpetrators of these attacks, our data revealed that political actors, which might include local government officials, were responsible for 60% of high or very high levels of restrictions on religious institutions, which include houses of worship … religious and charitable institutions,” she added.

Respondents were asked if they knew of “any acts of discrimination perpetrated against individuals or communities on account of their religion or belief that may have been prompted by the current COVID-19 pandemic.” The results revealed “one out of three respondents from India said they were aware of such types of religiously motivated discrimination” during COVID. Additionally, “one out of five respondents in Indonesia said the same and 10% of Nigerian respondents also said they were aware of this type of … discrimination.” Thus, the global pandemic has allowed for nations to persecute believers to an even greater extent than before and is making persecution more accepting in many countries.

PRAY: Pray for the persecuted church that is dealing with increasing amounts of persecution through the global pandemic.

Russia and China Use Ukraine to Pressure Biden’s Foreign Policy

As Russian tanks amassed along the frozen marshes of the Belarus border with Ukraine on January 25, President Joe Biden put 8,500 U.S. troops on high alert for possible deployment. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) moved additional fighter jets and naval ships toward Eastern Europe. “I have made it clear early on to President Putin that if he were to move into Ukraine, that there’d be severe consequences,” Biden said.

However, the opposite has happened: Putin’s gamesmanship has exacted damaging consequences on the U.S. and the Biden Administration. Putin wants to assert Russia’s relevance on the world stage, embarrass Biden, and test the unity of NATO countries. He’s already well on his way to achieving those ends. Putin has dragged Biden into responding to a frustrating series of escalations, complicating the U.S. response to Russia’s actions, distracting from other diplomatic priorities, and upping the political stakes for Biden. His approval ratings sagged after a turbulent withdrawal from Afghanistan last summer led the Taliban to take control of the country. Ukraine is Biden’s second major foreign policy test as President.

Putin’s gamble is paying off—at least in the short term. “He’s back in the center of attention,” says Charles Kupchan, a professor of international affairs at Georgetown University and former director of European affairs on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council. “Putin craves being at the table and profoundly laments the Soviet Union’s dismantlement and Russia’s fall from grace.”

Putin now has the world’s attention, forcing the U.S. and NATO to hand formal written responses to Russia’s list of demands that Western forces withdraw from Eastern Europe and disallow any other former Soviet-bloc nations, like Ukraine, from joining the alliance. Secretary of State Antony Blinken cautioned NATO would not close its “open-door” policy to new members but said there was room for negotiation in other areas. “Whether they choose the path of diplomacy and dialogue, whether they decide to renew aggression against Ukraine,” he said, “we’re prepared either way.”

The standoff is proving a major challenge for Biden. So far Putin has played his hand to his advantage. Putin has “shown that he is still very relevant in geopolitical terms,” says Matt Pottinger, who was President Donald Trump’s deputy national security advisor. “He’s amassed leverage to extract concessions that Russians have wanted since soon after the close of the Cold War 30 years ago.”

Biden’s aides spent days cleaning up his confusing responses during a January 19 White House press conference. He said if Putin launches a “minor incursion” the U.S. and allies will “end up having a fight about what to do and not do.” The next day, Biden tried to clarify that “any assembled Russian units” moving across the Ukrainian border would be considered “an invasion” and there would be a “severe and coordinated economic response.”

Putin’s show of force comes at a time when Biden’s foreign policy apparatus wants to focus on countering China’s growing influence in the Pacific. While much of the world’s attention was on the crisis in Ukraine, China flew a large formation of warplanes toward Taiwan. “The White House, they want to focus on China, because they correctly see that as the big strategic challenge for the next three or four decades, and they were sort of hoping that Russia would remain quiet. Well, Russia didn’t accommodate,” says Steven Pifer, U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 1998 to 2000.

Ryan Crocker, a retired diplomat who served as ambassador in Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan over his 37-year career, believes Biden’s mishandling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan caught the attention Russia and China. Following his decision to abruptly pull out of America’s longest war, Biden failed to closely consult and coordinate with Western partners, essentially leaving them to scamper for the exits, Crocker said. “The whole world saw what happened,” Crocker says. “He’s got to show that he can do a whole lot better on another major international issue than he did on Afghanistan.”

PRAY: Pray for wisdom for President Biden and his foreign policy advisors and for opportunities to deescalate rising tensions.

Will Climate Change Kill National Sovereignty and Increase Globalism?

As we collectively hurtle into the era of climate change, international relations as we’ve known them for almost four centuries will change beyond recognition. This shift is probably inevitable, but it will also cause new conflicts. Since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, diplomats — in peacetime and war alike — have, for the most part, subscribed to the principle of national sovereignty. The Charter of the United Nations says foreign countries have no right “to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.”

The concept was born, along with the entire system of modern states, in the physical and psychological rubble of the Thirty Years War. Starting in 1618, European powers intervened in one another’s territories at will. Round after round of war left about one in three dead. It was in that continental graveyard that statesmen stipulated it was best if every state henceforth minded its own business.

Nobody at the Peace of Westphalia was deluded enough to think this realist notion would end war. After all, by acknowledging sovereignty, the system accepted that countries pursue their national interests, which tend to clash. But at least the new consensus offered the chance of preventing additional indiscriminate bloodletting. Even then, the principle of sovereignty was never absolute or uncontroversial. For a long time, the best idealist counterargument was humanitarian — countries have not just the right but the duty to intervene in other states if, say, those are committing atrocities such as genocide.

Now, however, there’s an even more powerful push against sovereignty, put forth by thinkers such as Stewart Patrick at the Council on Foreign Relations. It’s that in a world where all countries collectively face the emergency of global warming, sovereignty is simply no longer a tenable concept.

An early demonstration of this shift in international relations was the dust-up in 2019 between Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and French President Emmanuel Macron. Bolsonaro was allowing fires to burn wide swathes of the Amazon rainforest. Speaking for many, Macron accused Bolsonaro of abetting “ecocide.” Sounds like the new genocide, doesn’t it? Bolsonaro shot back that Macron was a neocolonialist, a European power again trying to force his ideas on another sovereign nation.

The underlying issue is sovereignty: Is a rainforest located in Brazil the business of Brazil or of the world? Would, in a hypothetical future scenario, an alliance led by France be within its rights to declare war on Brazil to prevent ecocide? This opens a new line of thinking about world affairs. Policymakers are already steeped in analyses of the new types of conflict that global warming will cause within and between countries. Those include wars over access to freshwater, the disappearance of arable land or mass migrations.

Will some powers or alliances contemplate military interventions in other states to end what they will define as ecocide? Others may even go to war if they believe rival countries are taking unilateral measures against climate change that threaten their own interests.

This has caused many to claim national sovereignty should be forfeited and the need for an ecological equivalent to what the World Trade Organization is to commerce: A new international body that makes the conundrum explicit and attempts to maintain order. This sounds very much like a global government that can force individual nations to do whatever it deems “best for the globe”. Could this push lead to a stronger emphasis on globalism and a one-world government? It certainly looks like it could be a possibility, and something strongly pushed by progressives in the future.

PRAY: God has called us to be good stewards of the land. Pray for those seeking to establish a one-world government to achieve their goals.

Christian Evangelist Beaten and Left for Dead by Family Members

A 34-year-old Christian evangelist’s Muslim family beat and tied him up to be burned alive after he returned home for his grandfather’s funeral in eastern Uganda, saying, “Allah will reward them in Jannah [garden paradise] if they kill” him. Malingumu Bruhan’s uncles attempted to kill him in their home in the Nawaikoke area’s Muhira village in the Kaliro District.

 Narrating the incident, Burhan told the persecution news outlet that after the funeral on Feb. 6, his Muslim uncles requested that he visit their home. After other visitors left, an uncle, identified as Ndifakulya Musa, started scolding him. “My uncle accused me of embarrassing them by holding Christian evangelistic, open-air meetings and debates with Muslims,” Bruhan was quoted as saying. “He accused me of being an infidel by converting to Christianity, and that Allah will reward them in Jannah [garden paradise] if they kill me.” The victim added, “He said to me that it is now the right time for me to receive punishment from Allah, whereby I was going to be burned alive and the birds of the air will enjoy me as their meat.”

 Bruhan remained silent, which infuriated his uncles. “They started beating me up as others gathered firewood, while another was sent to go for petrol because they wanted to use it to burn me alive,” he said. In the meantime, another convert from Islam who had accompanied Bruhan to the funeral came looking for him and found one of his shoes that had come off as his uncles dragged him off to kill him. After tracking Burhan, who was found tied up near a stack of firewood, he tried calling the police which scared the attackers and they fled. However, Burhan had already sustained injuries to his head. This was the 11th murder attempt on Burhan, who had been ostracized by his relatives after his conversion in 2017.

 While most people in Uganda are Christian, some Eastern and Central regions in the country have higher concentrations of Muslims. The Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project estimates that about 11.5% of Uganda’s population is Muslim, mostly Sunni. Armed attacks and murders of converts are not uncommon in the region.

 “Radical Islam’s influence has grown steadily, and many Christians within the majority-Muslim border regions are facing severe persecution, especially those who convert from Islam,” a Voice of the Martyrs factsheet notes. “Despite the risks, Evangelical churches in Uganda have responded by reaching out to their neighbors; many churches are training leaders how to share the Gospel with Muslims and care for those who are persecuted after they become Christians.”

In Matthew 10:37-38, Jesus told the disciples “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.”

 In the United States, we take these verses for granted in many ways, as no one is currently trying to attack us, and our families are not out to murder us. However, in other parts of the world today, these verses are very much a real possibility, especially in parts of the world where converting to Christianity can ostracize you from the community, cost you your job, your house and your resources and even have your own family disown you or even try to murder you.

 Pray- Pray for the persecuted Church across the globe as they put their lives on the line to follow the cause of Christ.

Did the United Nations Create the Beast of Revelation 13?

A new giant statue installed outside the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan is being likened to an End Times “beast” described by the Apostle John in Revelation 13:2, which states, “The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.”

 The U.N. released a statement about the new statue. “A guardian for international peace and security sits on the Visitor’s Plaza outside #UN Headquarters. The guardian is a fusion of jaguar and eagle and donated by the Government of Oaxaca, Mexico … It is created by artists Jacobo and Maria Angeles,” the U.N. says in a tweet that includes a photo of the statue.

 This new statue has led many to identify it as the beast of Revelation. This has led to some confusion, with some wondering if this is a sign that we are now in the Tribulation. However, there are several problems with this idea. First, the two beasts in Revelation 13, the beast out of the Sea and the beast out of the land, are not actual beasts but are symbolic representatives of actual people in the future. This is very similar to the four beasts found in Daniel 7, which are not actual beasts either but represented the nations of Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece and Rome. In Revelation 13, the beast out of the Sea represents the future Antichrist and the beast out of the land represents the future False Prophet.

 The characteristics of these beasts are symbolic of their power and abilities. For example, the “ten horns” of the beast represented the power of the beast, given to him by ten future kings that will empower his empire. Much of the symbolism that John writes about in the Book of Revelation comes right out of the Book of Daniel. If the beasts in Daniel were symbolic, then it should be clear that the beasts in Revelation are similarly representative of other things. Thus, the beast statue should not alarm us into thinking that the Tribulation period has started in any way. There is no literal future beast figure that is coming that matches the physical descriptions given in Revelation, but instead the Antichrist and his False Prophet fulfills these future beasts.

 Second, the assertion that this statue in any way means that we are somehow in the Great Tribulation is also inaccurate. The Rapture of the Church has yet to occur. The Antichrist has not risen to power. It is only with these two event that the Tribulation can occur. Therefore, we should not be worried about this statue representing any beginning of the Tribulation.

 However, while we should not view this statue as any “sign of the apocalypse”, what it should do is alarm us at the increase of wild speculation that the COVID pandemic has brought into our culture. Instead of being faithful to the Biblical text, people are jumping at whatever they see that vaguely resembles anything from the Bible and trying to make it fit into their narrative. They are reading the newspaper first and then trying to make the Bible fit with current events. Instead, what we must always do as good followers of the Biblical text is to try to understand it in its proper meaning. For example, the Beast of Revelation 13 cannot mean we are already in the Tribulation because the Bible makes it clear the church will not be in the Tribulation. We must be wise and biblical in our interpretation and make sure we are always following the true meaning of the text!

 PRAY: Pray for believers to be wise and biblical in interpreting the Bible and world events.

Did the United Nations Create the Beast of Revelation 13?

A new giant statue installed outside the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan is being likened to an End Times “beast” described by the Apostle John in Revelation 13:2, which states, “The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.”

 The U.N. released a statement about the new statue. “A guardian for international peace and security sits on the Visitor’s Plaza outside #UN Headquarters. The guardian is a fusion of jaguar and eagle and donated by the Government of Oaxaca, Mexico … It is created by artists Jacobo and Maria Angeles,” the U.N. says in a tweet that includes a photo of the statue.

 This new statue has led many to identify it as the beast of Revelation. This has led to some confusion, with some wondering if this is a sign that we are now in the Tribulation. However, there are several problems with this idea. First, the two beasts in Revelation 13, the beast out of the Sea and the beast out of the land, are not actual beasts but are symbolic representatives of actual people in the future. This is very similar to the four beasts found in Daniel 7, which are not actual beasts either but represented the nations of Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece and Rome. In Revelation 13, the beast out of the Sea represents the future Antichrist and the beast out of the land represents the future False Prophet.

 The characteristics of these beasts are symbolic of their power and abilities. For example, the “ten horns” of the beast represented the power of the beast, given to him by ten future kings that will empower his empire. Much of the symbolism that John writes about in the Book of Revelation comes right out of the Book of Daniel. If the beasts in Daniel were symbolic, then it should be clear that the beasts in Revelation are similarly representative of other things. Thus, the beast statue should not alarm us into thinking that the Tribulation period has started in any way. There is no literal future beast figure that is coming that matches the physical descriptions given in Revelation, but instead the Antichrist and his False Prophet fulfills these future beasts.

 Second, the assertion that this statue in any way means that we are somehow in the Great Tribulation is also inaccurate. The Rapture of the Church has yet to occur. The Antichrist has not risen to power. It is only with these two event that the Tribulation can occur. Therefore, we should not be worried about this statue representing any beginning of the Tribulation.

 However, while we should not view this statue as any “sign of the apocalypse”, what it should do is alarm us at the increase of wild speculation that the COVID pandemic has brought into our culture. Instead of being faithful to the Biblical text, people are jumping at whatever they see that vaguely resembles anything from the Bible and trying to make it fit into their narrative. They are reading the newspaper first and then trying to make the Bible fit with current events. Instead, what we must always do as good followers of the Biblical text is to try to understand it in its proper meaning. For example, the Beast of Revelation 13 cannot mean we are already in the Tribulation because the Bible makes it clear the church will not be in the Tribulation. We must be wise and biblical in our interpretation and make sure we are always following the true meaning of the text!

 PRAY: Pray for believers to be wise and biblical in interpreting the Bible and world events.

Swedish Company Creating a Prototype for the Mark of the Beast?

Epicenter, a Stockholm-based startup, unveiled a new way of carrying around a COVID vaccine passport – in a microchip implanted under your skin. The implant can be read by any device using the near-field communication (NFC) protocol – technology used for contactless payments and keyless entry systems. In a video shared by Epicenter, Hannes Sjöblad, chief distribution officer, has the chip in his arm and simply waves a smartphone over it to pull up his vaccination status. “Implants are very versatile technology that can be used for many different things, and right now it is very convenient to have COVID passport always accessible on your implant”, he said in a statement.

 Many venues, restaurants, bars, concert halls and museums, across the US are requiring visitors present their vaccination status to enter the building and Epicenter wants to make presenting this information as easy as possible. “In case your phone runs out of battery, it’s always accessible to you. So of course, that’s how we use this technology today, next year we are going to use it for something else,” said Sjöblad.

 The microchip sits directly beneath the skin, either in the arm or between the thumb and forefinger. According to Sjöblad, the procedure is “completely reversible” and does not require a special phone app. This technology in its current development is meant to allow for easier access to one’s vaccine passport, but it is easy to see how the technology could be further developed for other means.

 Epicenter’s implanted microchip is not a new innovation, as the company has been using it for years – and with its own employees. In 2015, the company announced it had implanted the microchip in more than 100 of its employees, which allows them to open doors, operate printers, or buy smoothies with a wave of the hand. The chip is implanted with a simple injection of a syringe and with a click, a microchip is injected in the employee’s hand. When activated by a reader a few inches away, a small amount of data flows between the two devices via electromagnetic waves. And although the microchip passports are not yet ready for market, it is safe to assume that is how they will be implanted.

 While putting a vaccine passport on this type of technology is clearly not the mark of the beast from Revelation 13, the technology being developed could be laying the foundation for the future mark. If this technology is implanted into the human body, then it could not be faked. Unlike a tattoo or some other physical mark, this “mark” would be digitally read and impossible to fake. If this technology allows for your vaccine passport to be read, then other data could also be placed in this as well.

 For example, if the technology is used to identify a person and can be used for payment or even for opening doors, it could easily be tweaked into a type of mark. Revelation 13:17 states, “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Perhaps in the future, this technology, or something like it, could be used to allow access to grocery stores or the technology could be used to check out through your bank account instead of using cash, ensuring that you had the mark of the beast before you were able to purchase your goods.

 While the technology alone is not necessarily a negative thing and could be used for good in many cases, it may also be possibly laying the foundation for a future Tribulation period.

 PRAY: As the world seems to move closer to the Tribulation period and the return of Jesus Christ, pray for the expansion of the Gospel and for people to come to salvation.

Most millennials, Gen Z adults support bans on abortions when baby's heartbeat is detected

A new poll released ahead of the annual March for Life reveals that most young Americans support efforts to ban abortions after a baby's heartbeat can be detected. The poll, conducted on behalf of the pro-life organization Students for Life of America from Jan. 5–11, asked 834 young adults between the ages of 18 and 34 for their views on abortion and the United States Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion nationwide. The poll’s release comes as pro-lifers were set to gather in Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life that's held in the nation's capital around the anniversary of the Roe decision.

The survey informed respondents that “the human fetal heart begins to beat 21 days after conception, at 3 weeks gestation” before asking if they supported banning abortions after a heartbeat is detected. Fifty-two percent of those surveyed said they supported banning abortions after a heartbeat can be detected compared to 48% who opposed. Denise Harle, an attorney with the religious liberty law firm Alliance Defending Freedom, reacted to the poll’s findings in an interview with The Christian Post. “I think that is fantastic news,” she said. Harle told CP that she was “so encouraged” because “it means that … our younger generation understands what medical science shows us and what biology teaches us, which is that … life begins at conception, it’s a human right and it should be protected.”

Some of the young Americans who participated in the poll changed their views on abortion once they received more details about Roe v. Wade. Initially, 60% of respondents expressed some level of support for Roe, with 21% saying that they very strongly supported the decision, 26% reporting that they strongly supported the decision, and 12% telling the pollster that they did “not strongly support” it. The share of respondents who expressed some level of support for Roe decreased after they learned that Roe allows abortions to take place throughout all nine months of pregnancy, right up until the moment of birth and allows women to abort their children if they do not like the sex of their baby, fear it has an abnormality like Down syndrome or believe that the baby might be same-sex attracted or one day identify as transgender.

Additionally, the poll informed respondents that Roe has “been used to justify sending U.S. taxpayer dollars to perform abortions or off-set other expenses of abortion vendors/providers,” allows women to use abortion as contraception and “ends a disproportionate number of minority lives.” At the end of the poll, support for Roe had dropped to 50% among those surveyed.

When asked for their views about abortion in general, 25% agreed with the statement asserting that “I support an abortion at any time without exception.” Twenty percent expressed support for “abortion after a heartbeat is detected, up until the fetus can feel pain.” Twenty-eight percent opposed abortions after a heartbeat can be detected, while supporting exceptions to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest. Seventeen percent opposed abortions at all times after a heartbeat can be detected, except to save the life of the mother. The remaining 9% opposed abortion in all circumstances.

The Students for Life of America survey, as well as this year’s March for Life, come as the Supreme Court weighs whether or not to uphold a 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi. A ruling in favor of the state of Mississippi, which is seeking to uphold the ban, would significantly weaken the precedent set by Roe v. Wade. Harle finds herself “very optimistic” about the future of abortion policy in the U.S. based on the oral arguments in the case surrounding the Mississippi abortion law, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which took place last month: “It’s quite possible that Roe v. Wade will be overturned, which would mean that this issue would be returned to the states so that Americans can decide and enact policies consistent with their values, policies that protect life, that protect women’s health.”

Pray- Pray that the push against abortion will continue to gain prominence and America will one day stop the slaughter of the innocent.

Israel Could Take Unilateral Action Against Iran if Sanctions Lifted

Earlier this week, a message coming out of Iran expressed a willingness to engage directly with the United States over its nuclear deal if sanctions on Iran are lifted. During a live broadcast, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said, “If the parties are ready to lift the oppressive sanctions, it is quite possible any agreement can be reached.”

Yahoo News reports that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, indirectly gave the green light to the Iranian negotiation team to talk with the U.S. and said negotiating and interacting with the enemy does not mean surrender.

Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful. However, lifting sanctions on Iran could lead to military action by Israel, officials in Jerusalem warned world powers.

Israel claims that if the US lifts sanctions – along with international sanctions soon to be lifted under the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal – Iran could reach the nuclear threshold within six months. At that point, Israel could find it necessary to take unilateral action.

In a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called for the world to ramp up the threat to Iran in order to deter it from developing a nuclear weapon. Lapid emphasized that Israel views the talks as an attempt by Tehran to stall as it advances its nuclear program, and the world must have a plan B. “Sanctions must not be lifted from Iran,” Lapid said. “Sanctions must be tightened. A real military threat must be put before Iran because that is the only way to stop its race to become a nuclear power.” The meeting with Macron came a day after Lapid relayed a similar message in a meeting with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Israel opposes the JCPOA because it insufficiently limited Iran’s uranium enrichment, and, in fact, legitimizes further enrichment after the agreement expires, which paves the way for an eventual nuclear bomb. In addition, the JCPOA did not address Iran’s other malign actions in the region. But worse than the JCPOA, Israeli officials say, would be an interim deal that would barely restrict Iran’s nuclear program. Jerusalem has grown increasingly concerned that the U.S. is considering such an agreement, which some diplomats have called “less for less,” to have the U.S. lift some sanctions in exchange for Iran freezing – not rolling back – its nuclear program, which has advanced far beyond the JCPOA’s restrictions. Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Ushpiz said in an interview with KAN that this should be called “more for less,” as Iran would be getting a cash influx while conceding almost nothing.

Israel’s diplomatic efforts are overwhelmingly focused on the US, in order to convince Washington not to lift sanctions. France, Germany and the UK have been sympathetic to Israel’s messages, a senior Israeli diplomatic source said, and Russia has been attentive. While there has been communication between China and Israel about the Iranian nuclear threat, Beijing has been less receptive. Diplomats from the E3 – France, Britain and Germany – in the Vienna talks told Reuters that there will be a problem if Iran does not show that it is taking the negotiations seriously. Reaching an agreement is urgent, the diplomats said, but they did not want to impose an artificial deadline.

Iranian officials continued to maintain that the talks are about lifting U.S. sanctions, as opposed to their country’s nuclear program, even though the Joint Comprehensive Plan of action, as the 2015 deal was called, limited uranium enrichment in addition to gradually lifting sanctions. Russia’s Ambassador to International Institutions in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said that the U.S. reaffirmed that it was willing to lift all post-JCPOA sanctions if Iran returns to full compliance with the agreement. In addition, Iran demands a “guarantee by America not to impose new sanctions...The talks are about the return of the U.S. to the deal, and they have to lift all sanctions and this should be in practice and verifiable,” Bagheri said. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said they will “not accept anything less than sanctions removal and we will not commit to anything more than what is in the JCPOA.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken indicated that the talks with Iran are at a “decisive moment,” and warned that Washington and its allies may need to change tactics if a deal regarding its nuclear program isn’t reached soon.

State Department Celebrates First Nonbinary Gender ‘X’ US Passport

The Biden administration announced that it has issued the first-ever U.S. passport for citizens who identify as nonbinary or intersex by using the “X” gender marker instead of “M” for male or “F” for female. Ned Price, the spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, said in a statement that the department had “issued the first U.S. passport with an X gender marker. We look forward to offering this option to all routine passport applicants once we complete the required system and form updates in early 2022,” Price added. “The Department also continues to work closely with other U.S. government agencies to ensure as smooth a travel experience as possible for all passport holders, regardless of their gender identity.”

Price said additional updates on the implementation of the X gender marker on passports for people who identify as nonbinary would be found on the U.S. Department of State website. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in June that the State Department would allow people to choose their gender identity for passports even if it contradicts with their biological sex or the gender identity listed on other official documents. “The Department has begun moving toward adding a gender marker for nonbinary, intersex, and gender non-conforming persons applying for a passport or [Consular Report of Birth Abroad],” Blinken said at the time.

“We are evaluating the best approach to achieve this goal. The process of adding a gender marker for nonbinary, intersex, and gender non-conforming persons to these documents is technologically complex and will take time for extensive systems updates.” The policy change came partly in response to Dana Zzyym, a U.S. Navy Veteran who identifies as nonbinary and intersex who filed a lawsuit to get a passport that reflecting this new identity.

Previously, the State Department had defended the gender binary for passports by arguing that it ensured accuracy, helped identify eligibility, and made passport data useful for other agencies. The department had also previously contended that there was no medical consensus on determining intersex identity and that creating a third designation for sex, such as an “X” mark, was not feasible.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit ruled in May 2020 that three of the five reasons argued by the State Department “lacked record support” and sent the case back down to the district court level. The circuit panel still considered the reasons of helping identify individuals ineligible for passports and helping to make passport data useful for other agencies valid. According to a Rasmussen Reports poll from September, 54% of American adults disapproved of the State Department’s new gender identity passport policy, while 35% said they approved.

This move by the State Department creates two major challenges. First, it shows just how far America has slide from its Judeo-Christian foundation. Even simple facts like the amount of genders, accepted for millennia, are now not only being questioned but are being changed because of the radicalization that has occurred. Things that would never even be dreamed about even twenty years ago are now being accepted. Satan is clearly on the offensive in America.

Second, the State Department’s actions will make it very difficult to make any changes to this policy in the future. Once a number of people have these passports, then it will be difficult if not impossible to then say that they are no longer valid. American will most likely be flaunting this sin to the world for generations to come.

Biden HHS to Revoke Trump-era Religious Freedom Policy

A leaked document reveals that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services plans on reversing a Trump administration delegation that allows the Office of Civil Rights to investigate religious freedom complaints. One Biden administration official believes the Trump-era policy acts as “a sword to impose religious beliefs on others.” The document is a memorandum from the director of HHS’s Office of Civil Rights to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.

 In the memo, OCR Director Lisa Pino expresses support for reversing a practice implemented in late 2017 by the Trump administration that delegated to OCR broad authority to enforce violations of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. “Prior to the delegation in 2017, no division was singularly responsible for the Department’s compliance with RFRA or the First Amendment,” she wrote in the memo. “That model recognized that all components of HHS had a responsibility for compliance and that OGC [Office of General Counsel] was a central partner in providing key legal advice on RFRA and defending the Department when RFRA claims were raised.”

 The Trump administration’s delegation followed a May 4, 2017, executive order directing the U.S. attorney general to issue guidance to federal agencies “interpreting religious liberty protections in Federal law.” Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued the guidance on Oct. 6, 2017. Sessions asserted that RFRA “broadly [defines] the exercise of religion to encompass all aspects of observance and practice, whether or not central to, or required by a particular religious faith.” Pino maintained that “Rescinding the delegation to OCR does not lessen the commitment of the Department to compliance, but ensures that it is not used by any one agency to enact a broad, proactive agenda.”

 “While nothing in RFRA legally restricts an agency to work proactively to address a complainant’s (or ‘would be’ complainant’s) religious needs or rights, there is a serious concern that such an approach broadens the effect of RFRA in a way that may not be legally required and while causing significant detriment to civil rights and public health protections,” Pino’s draft memo reportedly states. “The prior Administration took an expansive view of the use of RFRA that resulted in negative impacts for underserved communities,” Pino added. She expressed particular concern about “broad-based exemptions from nondiscrimination requirements to child welfare agencies,” which she characterized as hampering “the ability of children and youth to obtain safe and loving foster and adoptive homes.” Pino accused the Trump administration’s interpretations of RFRA of sending a “signal to LGBTQ+ communities that the Department did not recognize their civil rights, including the right to marry.”

 “While the Department will need to continue to comply with RFRA, removing this delegation demonstrates our belief that RFRA is meant to be a shield to protect the freedom of religion, not a sword to impose religious beliefs on others without regard for third party harms, including civil rights,” she wrote. While Pino signaled opposition to a legal interpretation that would allow faith-based foster agencies to uphold policies preventing the placement of foster children with same-sex couples, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in July against the city of Philadelphia after it excluded a Catholic foster care agency over its policies preventing children from being placed with same-sex couples.

 Roger Severino, who headed the HHS civil rights office during the Trump administration, argued in a tweet that the leaked memo proves that HHS “plans to effectively end religious freedom enforcement at HHS. The Biden Admin declared open season on people of faith some time ago, this would make it official,” he declared.

 The forthcoming memo is not the first time the Biden administration has taken action deemed hostile to religious liberty by critics. In August, the Department of Justice dropped a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration against a Vermont hospital that coerced a pro-life nurse to assist in an abortion, a practice that violated her conscience. When a federal judge struck down a mandate requiring doctors and hospitals to perform gender transition surgeries even if doing so violated their religious beliefs, the Biden administration appealed the ruling.

 PRAY: Pray that the liberal agenda threatening religious freedom and Christianity will be defeated.

Old Testament Prophecies and Christ’s Birth

There are over 100 prophecies in the Old Testament that were fulfilled by Christ’s First Coming. Six of them, in particular, relate to His birth, including the first prophecy of the entire Bible. After the fall in the Garden of Eden, God said to the serpent:

 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel,” Genesis 3:15.

 This is a prophecy of both the birth and the death of Christ. Concerning His birth, it refers to Him as the seed of the woman. As it is a man who has “seed,” and not a woman, this indicates that Jesus would be born of a woman, but not in the usual way. The angel spoke to Joseph of its fulfillment in Matthew 1:20. This brings us to the next prophecy, that of the virgin birth:

 “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel,” Isaiah 7:14.

 This would find its fulfillment in Mary’s own admission when the Angel Gabriel announced Jesus’ coming in Luke 1:26-35. Isaiah’s passage also contains another prophecy, that of our Savior’s name, “Immanuel,” Hebrew for “God with us,” a prophecy fulfilled by Jesus according to Matthew 1:22-23.

 The Savior’s birthplace at Bethlehem was prophesied by the Prophet Micah, and was fulfilled in Matthew 2:1.

 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting,” Micah 5:2.

 When the wise men came to visit Jesus in his infancy, King Herod would display his insecurity about his own position by attempting to kill this new “King of the Jews” by slaughtering all the young male children in the Bethlehem area. This slaughter of the innocents was prophesied by Jeremiah:

 “Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not,” Jeremiah 31:15.

 To insure that no harm came to the Christ child, Joseph was instructed to take Him and His mother to Egypt, then to bring them back when the danger posed by Herod was over (Matthew 2:13-23). This flight into Egypt and return was prophesied by Hosea:

 “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt,” Hosea 11:1.

 From these verses alone, it is easy to accept that Jesus Christ, by His birth, was the prophesied Messiah of Israel and Savior of the World. But when we consider that there are still over 100 prophecies related to other aspects of His First Coming that were just as accurately fulfilled, the evidence is unmistakable and irrefutable. The Apostle John put it well when he wrote towards the end of His Gospel:

 “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name,” John 20:31.

Focusing on God this Thanksgiving

One of the main issues in discussing Thanksgiving is the One to whom thanks should be given, and that, of course, is God.

 Looking back to the first American celebration of Thanksgiving, we know that the Plymouth colonists landed in the late fall of 1620, just before the dead of winter. Not able to plant, most of them stayed aboard their ship, the Mayflower, through the winter, where about half of them died from exposure or disease.

 When the survivors emerged in the spring, a bilingual Native American by the name of Squanto aided the colonists by showing them how to cultivate crops, hunt, fish, and avoid danger in their new environment. The Pilgrims’ first harvest was a success, and the result was a three-day celebration of thanks in November 1621, in which they invited their new Native American friends who had helped them so graciously.

 However, the Pilgrims knew that in spite of their hardships the previous year, it was ultimately God who had provided them a new home in the New World. Had they landed a few miles away either north or south, they may have missed their encounter with Squanto, had a disastrous first crop, and all perished. But God’s provision had sustained them.

 From its inception as a nation, the United States recognized that its blessings come from God. George Washington called upon Americans to celebrate Thanksgiving in 1789, in gratitude for a successful conclusion of the Revolutionary War and the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. In the dark days of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving an official American holiday, but asked that citizens request of God to “commend to His tender care of all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.”

 With these thoughts in mind, it is clear that thanks should be given regardless of the outward circumstances in which we find ourselves. Many of us find ourselves facing difficulties, just as our American ancestors did. In these difficult economic times, many of us may even have to scale down the size and the cost of our Thanksgiving celebrations. Sickness and death take their toll at all times and in all places, and there may be some empty places at the table that were filled last year. But we must look at what we do have, rather than what we lack, just as was done by those who have preceded us, and give thanks accordingly:

 “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Ephesians 5:20.

 When we concentrate on the blessings of God, particularly His greatest gift of salvation through Jesus Christ for those who have placed their trust in Him, we will strengthen our relationship with Him and look at our circumstances with a new and more positive outlook.

 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning,” James 1:17.

 This in turn will give us more impetus to trust God to provide for all our needs and to direct our paths. If you will open your heart and life this Thanksgiving to the Savior who loves you and gave Himself for you, this could be the greatest Thanksgiving you have ever experienced!

 Happy Thanksgiving!

Dr. Ed Hindson and the World Prophetic Ministry team

Human rights groups document over 300 acts of persecution in 2021 in India

Human rights groups in India say they have documented over 300 incidents of Christian persecution in just the first nine months of 2021, warning that this year might be the worst in terms of the number of such incidents in the country’s history. While Christians make up only 2.3% of India’s population and Hindus comprise about 80%, radical Hindu nationalists have been carrying out attacks on Christians under the pretext of punishing the minority for using force or monetary rewards to convert Hindus to Christianity,

 A.C. Michael, the National Coordinator of the United Christian Forum, said at a press conference in Delhi, “The brutal attacks have taken place across 21 states. Most of the incidents are taking place in northern states and 288 instances were of mob violence,” he added, according to the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern. The press conference was held jointly by the United Christian Forum, the United Against Hate, and the Association of Protection of Civil Rights, which released a fact-finding report titled “Christians Under Attack in India.”

 “This is a scary situation, raising critical questions over the role and the position of the National Human Rights Commission and the Home [Interior] Ministry and their failures in stopping this violence,” Michael added. “Over 49 FIRs [police complaints] have been registered, too, but no substantial action has taken place.” Recently, a mob of 200 radical Hindu nationalists left a church damaged and at least three Christian women seriously injured in an attack in the northern state of Uttarakhand. The attackers accused the church of “illegally” converting people to Christianity.

 The mob attacked the church in Roorkee city’s Solanipuram Colony and was comprised of members of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party and radical Hindu nationalist groups associated with the party, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal. As the service was about to begin, the mob reportedly barged into the church, thrashed the congregants and vandalized church properties, injuring at least three Christian women who were taken to a hospital in Dehradun city.

 Several Indian states have “anti-conversion” laws, which presume that Christians “force” or give financial benefits to Hindus to convert them to Christianity. While some of these laws have been in place for decades in some states, no Christian has been convicted of “forcibly” converting anyone to Christianity. These laws, however, allow Hindu nationalist groups to make false charges against Christians and launch attacks on them under the pretext of the alleged forced conversion.

 The law states that no one is allowed to use the “threat” of “divine displeasure,” meaning Christians cannot talk about Heaven or Hell, as that would be seen as “forcing” someone to convert. And if snacks or meals are served to Hindus after an evangelistic meeting, that could be seen as an “inducement.” India ranks as the 10th worst country globally when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA’s 2021 World Watch List. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has urged the U.S. State Department to label India as a “country of particular concern” for engaging in or tolerating severe religious freedom violations.

 Open Doors USA warns that since the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party took power in 2014, persecution against Christians and other religious minorities has increased. The group reports that “Hindu radicals often attack Christians with little to no consequences. Hindu extremists believe that all Indians should be Hindus and that the country should be rid of Christianity and Islam,” an Open Doors fact sheet on India explains. “They use extensive violence to achieve this goal, particularly targeting Christians from a Hindu background.” This is another example of Christian persecution continuing to expand throughout the globe, something that will only continue to rise as we get closer to the Rapture and the Tribulation.

 Pray- Pray for the persecuted church across the globe that is under attack because of their faith in Christ.

The Radicalization of Christianity

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” 2 Thessalonians 2:15

 Have you ever walked into a church and thought, “What in the world is going on here? This doesn’t look like church, sound like church, or act like church. This is wild. This is crazy.”

 We are facing a challenge today like never before – the radicalization of Christianity – in which the entire Christian message has been redefined, repackaged, and reexplained in light of the culture in which we live. The Apostle Paul, when he wrote his second letter to the Thessalonians, according to the verse above, was saying to them, “Stand for truth and don’t cave in to something else.”

 Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). But we are living in a time of confusion and denial. Society has developed a repackaged Jesus. There is talk today about a gay Jesus, a married Jesus, a feminist Jesus, and so on. This reflection of our culture is nothing more than that of a perverted humanity that wants to reinterpret the Christian message. Instead of  simply saying, “I don’t believe it; I’m against it; I’m going to live a different way,” they are changing Jesus. They are saying, “I want to redefine Jesus so that Jesus is like me. I want to redefine morality so that which is moral is that by which I am choosing to live my lifestyle.”

 In our modern culture, we are informed by secular education that there are no absolutes. Every truth is relative to its culture and to its experience. However, if there are no absolutes, the only virtue is tolerance. We are to tolerate every viewpoint: they are all equally true in some sense, so they should all be accepted, even if they are controversial or contradictory. I would counter this to say one thing we have learned in the past two years in our country is that there is very little tolerance to Christians or the traditional values upon which America was founded.

 I’m all for radical Christianity – radical in the sense that we radically believe the message of the Bible. Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow Me. Abandon all and come after me. He who is not willing to forsake everything is not worthy to be My disciple” (Luke 14:27). He taught a radical kind of spirituality that was based on commitment to the Word of God.

 Jesus taught that the spiritual nature of a human being was more important than his material prosperity. A relationship with the God of Heaven is more important than some kind of spirituality that is an ill-defined, mystical experience with a great force out there who does not love you, who does not relate to you personally, and who cannot change your life.

 That is not the message of the Bible. The message of the Bible is that a real, personal God send His Son to Earth in physical form, to go to the cross, to die for your sins, and to literally rise from the dead. He promised that one day, He would literally return.

 The message of the Bible is solid. It is timeless. It is relevant, no matter what the culture teaches. It is concrete reality. It speaks of real people in real places. It gives us the real history of a real Savior who entered into the human race, and who came to change your heart, life, and soul. It is a real, personal experience that you can have with the God of Heaven. If you have never done so, you can come to know that same Savior as well. He can change your life, and He can use you to change the world.

 If you have done this today, we would love to hear from you: www.thekingiscoming.com/contact-us

Massive Life-Like Statues Being Created Across the World

“And he deceives those who dwell on the earth—by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed” (Rev. 13:14-15).

 For decades people have wondered what this passage in Revelation 13 could be referring to; an image that the False Prophet is able to bring to life in some way? An image that can move and speak? An image of the Antichrist that people will bow down and worship? What on earth is John describing? Well, it is possible that we are now seeing technology that is being developed that can mimic many of the elements of this passage.

 Developers in Ireland have created a plan in which they will build 21 10-story-tall statues around the world. Called “The Giant”, it’s a programmable, moving statue covered with millions of LED pixels that allow it to take the form of any person. The Giant’s arms and head can move to a diversity of positions and its patented skin, a matrix of millions of programmable LED pixels gives it the ability to instantly take the form of any man or woman, boy or girl from historical figures such as Albert Einstein or Amelia Earhart to stars of today from Lionel Messi to Beyoncé. The Giant can take on any image and can also sing and speak.

 The idea was developed by entrepreneur Paddy Dunning, Berlin-based architecture studio Dan Pearlman and backed by the commercial real estate company Enterprise Ireland. Each “Giant” will cost $18 - $24 million to develop depending on the location and chosen size, according to a press release. The company estimates the sculpture to bring in about $14 million in revenue for the host cities and that each of the statues could be built within 18 months of the start of construction.

 While the 21 cities have yet to be formally announced, Phoenix has been identified as a strong possibility for one location.

 Speaking about the launch of The Giant, Dunning said; “With patents in place, we are excited to unveil our plans! We have already had interest from investors from Europe, Australia, Abu Dhabi and cities across the US. The beauty of this attraction is that its exhibition can be tailored to individual cities and cultures and the sculpture can be posed in a number of positions to suit the location.”

 While this is all highly speculative, it shows that the type of technology needed to create something similar to what John describes in the Book of Revelation is already present. People have long scoffed at John’s claim that people during the Tribulation would bow down to a little idol like they did in the ancient world.

 However, it is much easier to see the Antichrist and the False Prophet creating something as large as Nebuchadnezzar’s statue from Daniel 3, using technology to make it look like the Antichrist and demand that people bow down and worship it. This technology even would allow the statue to speak through a computer program or a recording of the Antichrist’s voice. 

 Technology continues to develop at an amazing rate. While much of it has worked to better lives, some of these technological innovations or others like them will no doubt play a major role during the Tribulation.

 PRAY: As technology continues to advance, pray for world evangelization and for believers to be mindful of warnings mentioned in Revelation about the coming Antichrist.

Harvard Chaplains Elect Atheist as New President

John Harvard would be horrified by the actions of the school that bears his name. Greg Epstein, an atheist and humanist chaplain at Harvard University who says he doesn’t look to God but people for answers, has been elected by his colleagues as the newest president of the Harvard Chaplains. Esptein, 44, was elected to the presidency of the university’s organization of chaplains by more than 40 chaplains from some 20 different faith and spiritual traditions even though he is an atheist. He shared the news in an announcement on Twitter along with a profile of his election to the position by The New York Times.

 Margit Hammerstrom, the Christian Science chaplain at Harvard, told the publication that while Epstein’s election to such a role may have been problematic at a more conservative institution, the decision was unanimous at Harvard. “Maybe in a more conservative university climate, there might be a question like, ‘What the heck are they doing at Harvard, having a humanist be the president of the chaplains?’ But in this environment, it works. Greg is known for wanting to keep lines of communication open between different faiths,” Hammerstrom said. This shows just how far Harvard has fallen from its founding, with its original purpose to train pastors for the ministry.

 The new leader, who authored Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe, is expected to coordinate activities for the corps of chaplains. He has served as a humanist chaplain at Harvard since 2005. Recent survey data highlighted by the Harvard Crimson shows that a growing number of students enrolled at the Ivy League campus don’t identify with any particular faith. In 2017, some 32.4% of incoming freshmen identified as either atheist or agnostic. By 2019, the share of incoming freshmen who identified as either atheist or agnostic increased to 37.9%.

 “There is a rising group of people who no longer identify with any religious tradition but still experience a real need for conversation and support around what it means to be a good human and live an ethical life,” Epstein, who was raised in a Jewish household, told The New York Times. “We don’t look to a god for answers,” he said. “We are each other’s answers.”

 A study from the Pew Research Center published in late 2019 showed that only 65% of Americans identify as Christian, showing a 12% decline over a decade earlier. The number of Americans who identify as religiously unaffiliated also increased to 26%. “The changes underway in the American religious landscape are broad-based.

 The Christian share of the population is down and religious ‘nones’ have grown across multiple demographic groups: white people, black people and Hispanics; men and women; in all regions of the country; and among college graduates and those with lower levels of educational attainment,” Pew researchers reported. “Religious ‘nones’ are growing faster among Democrats than Republicans, though their ranks are swelling in both partisan coalitions,” Pew added. “And although the religiously unaffiliated are on the rise among younger people and most groups of older adults, their growth is most pronounced among young adults.”

 This is another example of the growing movement within the United States, especially among Millennials and Gen. Z, toward an abandonment of our Christian foundation and a move to hard-line secularization. Whereas in the past places like Harvard, who have long abandoned any sort of Christian foundation, would at least keep up a charade of acceptance of Christianity, many of these groups now actively and openly share their disdain for Christianity and their complete acceptance of the secular worldview.

 PRAY: Pray for our young people in America to turn to God and abandon the hopeless worldview of secularism.

Christians in Afghanistan Face Persecution and Death under Taliban Rule

Afghan Christians are living in fear as the Taliban has declared they will carry out executions and other brutal punishments, including amputations, under Islamic Sharia law as part of their rule in Afghanistan. “Cutting off of hands is very necessary for security,” Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, a member of the Taliban’s interim government and chief enforcer of the group’s strict interpretation of Sharia law, told The Associated Press. “Everyone criticized us for the punishments in the stadium, but we have never said anything about their laws and their punishments,” he continued. “No one will tell us what our laws should be. We will follow Islam and we will make our laws on the Quran.” Turabi, who is under U.N. sanctions, also said the new government may consider carrying out such punishments in public.

 Turabi’s announcement has many Afghan Christians bracing for persecution, the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern reported, explaining that the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Sharia is a threat to Afghan Christians due to their conversions from Islam to Christianity. “As apostates, Afghan Christians will be subject to Sharia’s deadliest consequences, including execution,” ICC said. Almost all Afghan Christians — estimated to be between 8,000 and 12,000 — are converts from Islam and remain largely closeted and hidden from the public eye due to severe persecution.

When the Taliban took control of much of Afghanistan following the drawing down of U.S. troops in August, many ministries working with the country’s underground church worked tirelessly to evacuate at-risk Christians, William Stark, ICC’s regional manager for South Asia, told The Christian Post earlier this month. “Christians are now in hiding because of active threats against their community,” Stark said.

 He shared stories of how Christians continue to face threats from members of the Taliban. In one situation, an Islamic extremist threatened to kidnap a Christian man’s daughters and marry them off to members of the Taliban. In another, a Christian man received a letter from the Taliban saying his house belonged to them. Christians have also been warned to refrain from gathering. “Even within the networks that we have, a number of people have changed their phone numbers because it’s simply not safe anymore,” Stark said. “Their work to lie low in the country makes it hard for someone on the outside to stay in contact.”

 As persecution continues to increase, Afghan Christians need “help from the outside” to escape their circumstances, he said. “It’s going to take a diplomatic process by the U.S., the U.K. and other countries that are going to allow them to leave that country,” he said. “Essentially, what they need is some sort of special status that would allow them to travel outside of Afghanistan.”

 The Taliban are arresting, and in some instances executing, people they perceive as their enemies, Christian missionary David Eubank, a former U.S. Army Special Forces and Ranger officer, said in a recent interview with CBN News. Eubank also said recent photos and video suggest they’re killing as many as 30 to 40 at a time. “They [the Taliban] are hunting down people right now, trying to get all the names of anyone they perceive as an enemy,” Eubank said, adding that the enemies include “people who work with the U.S. government, people who are with other governments, people who work with non-governmental organizations they don’t agree with.”

Five of the Taliban-appointed leaders in the interim government were in detention in Guantánamo and later exchanged for Bowe Bergdahl in 2014, according to Long War Journal. Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, the current “Emir of the Faithful” or top leader of the Taliban, issued religious decrees justifying the Taliban’s operations, including suicide attacks, from 1996 to 2001, the Journal said. Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, the acting head of state, refused to turn over Osama bin Laden after the al Qaeda terror group bombed the U.S. Embassy in August 1998. Akhundzada and Akhund are among more than a dozen new leaders who were sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in early 2001.

 Pray- Pray for our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan, that they will be protected in this troubling time.

The Rise of Apostasy

The Bible tells us that at the time of the end, men will begin to depart from the truth and to deny the basic message of the Word of God. Certainly, some of the major controversies facing the Church today – the problems of apostasy, atheism, preterism, and secularism – fulfill that prophecy. What effect are these issues having on our culture today?

 The challenge of apostasy is rising from within the evangelical church. There are those who claim they believe the Bible, but who are watering down the truths of the Word of God.

 In 1984, Francis Schaeffer, the great theologian, wrote a book called The Great Evangelical Disaster, in which he predicted that this exact trend would occur in the future – that people would depart from the basic truths of the Word of God while claiming to believe its message.

 Notice what the Apostle Paul predicted 2,000 years ago in 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2. Moved by the Spirit of God, Paul looked down through the corridor of time, and reminds us that there is a tragic deception coming that will precede the return of Christ.

 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first…,” 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

 The term for “falling away” is the Greek word apostasia, to depart or fall away from a standard of truth. In other words, a time of apostasy will come first. Then the man of sin, the son of perdition, will be revealed. Finally, the Lord Jesus Christ will return.

 Paul says in his last letter to Timothy, the last letter that he wrote:

 “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned into fables,” 2 Timothy 4:2-4.

 He goes on to instruct, “Don’t listen to what they have to say.” Today there are those who try to water down the message of the Gospel, the challenge of Jesus Christ Himself who said, “Follow Me. Repent. For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

 If you start changing the Biblical message to simply accommodate today’s culture, then culture defines Scripture, instead of Scripture defining the culture. Sin then becomes redefined as nothing more that “poor choices.” Hell is not real.

 The doctrine of repentance will be diminished in the last days. A strong call to personal salvation and transformation will be eliminated. The Gospel will be reduced to nothing more than easy believism. The day and age will come when inner feelings replace objective truth.

 That is exactly what Francis Schaeffer predicted 37 years ago and what the Apostle Paul predicted 2,000 years ago. Jesus becomes totally repackaged. The Gospel becomes redefined. The Bible is irrelevant. The Church is unnecessary. Biblical statements about men, women, marriage, and family are all culturally conditioned, so they do not apply to today’s culture.

 As secular culture moves further and further away from God and the things of God, it removes itself from the message of the Word of God. Meanwhile, churches start to accommodate themselves to attract more people. Thus, we end up demeaning the message of the Word of God, and ultimately eliminating the challenge of the call of Christ Himself.

 “… I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me,” John 14:6.

 That is a very clear, narrow statement from Jesus Himself. Jesus also said:

 “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven,” Matthew 10:32-33.

 If we, as evangelical, Bible-believing Christians, water down the Gospel message, then a wave of apostasy will come like a tsunami and roll over what is left of evangelical culture and wipe out the message of Christ. To combat the rise of apostasy, we must stand firm on the inerrant, inspired Word of God!

 We here at The King is Coming are committed to the authority of the Bible, to preach “thus saith the Lord,” to call people to a personal point of repentance and faith, to give your heart, life, and soul not to some vague mythological idea, but to the real, living Savior, who died for your sins, who rose from the dead, and indeed, who is coming again!