The Russian Bear is on the Prowl!

When Communism collapsed in the old Soviet Union thirty years ago, many in the West naively assumed Russia was no longer a threat to world peace. For three decades America and its NATO partners have had to carry on a dangerous political “dance” with Russia’s political leaders. In the current climate of “political correctness”, many foolishly have advocated peace through compromise, negotiation and economic co-operation. They have assumed that if we are nice to other nations, they will reciprocate nicely as well.

All of this tactic is based upon an unrealistic view of human nature. Unregenerate people are not naturally “nice” people. The Bible reminds us that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). As a result, “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mask their ways; and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:15-18).

The cold, icy stare of Vladimir Putin reveals his cold heart, which is evidence of his evil intents. When the Soviet Union collapsed, even many Bible teachers assumed they had been wrong about identifying Russia and the ancient people of Magog in Ezekiel 38:1. Perhaps Ezekiel had some other nation in mind they suggested. In the meantime, serious students of prophecy warned that while the Soviet Union had disappeared, the Russian Bear was still on the prowl and would eventually re-emerge as a major threat to world peace.

Many of us who have been to Russia can testify to their incredible history of survival, the strength of their people and their amazing cultural heritage. But Russia has suffered under the iron grop of czars, oligarchs, and dictators for centuries. Mistreatment, mismanagement and misdirection have often plagued the Russian people because of their leaders.

While we in the West are sickened and saddened by Russia’s harsh treatment of neighboring Ukraine, we need to pray for God’s divine intervention for the sake of true believers in both countries who are caught in the middle of this current crisis. War is an ugly thing because it reveals the ugliness of human depravity at its worst.

No matter how the current conflict ends, this will not be the end. Greed, corruption and hatred are the results of unregenerate and unredeemed hearts. The Spirit of God inspired the prophets to look down the tunnel of time into the distant future and warn His people that Satan is always prowling about seeking who he may devour. And he uses leaders and nations to fulfil his evil desires. No wonder he is called, Apollyon, the Destroyer (Revelation 9:11).

Dr. Ed Hindson

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.

Israel Envoy Claims UN Trying to “Erase Jewish History”

Israel protested the United Nations marking the 74th anniversary of the historic vote on the partition plan, which called for a Jewish state alongside an Arab one in the British Mandate of Palestine, by holding a Palestinian solidarity event. Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan called the decision to hold an event in the General Assembly aimed at strengthening the Palestinian “right of return” on this day “outrageous.”

On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to recognize the establishment of a Jewish state in parts of the Mandate. Jews jubilantly accepted the plan, while the Palestinians and neighboring Arab states rejected it and launched what would become Israel’s War of Independence. “On November 29th, exactly 74 years ago, the UN recognized the Jewish people’s right to a state. The Jews and Israel accepted this partition plan and the Palestinians and the Arab countries rejected it and tried to destroy us,” said Erdan.

“The Palestinians and the Arab countries not only attacked Israel, the Jewish state, they also persecuted, massacred, and ultimately expelled the Jewish communities in their own countries,” he added, accusing the international community of ignoring those events and only focusing on the Palestinians. “Instead, the UN has the audacity to hold a solidarity event for the Palestinians on the anniversary of the Palestinians’ own decision to choose violence. And on the day that the Palestinians chose violence, the UN also dares to advance… the outrageous, the false ‘demand of return,’ a demand that would lead to the total obliteration of the Jewish state,” he said.

A “right of return” is one of the key core issues of dispute in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians claim that five million people — tens of thousands of original refugees from what is today’s Israel, and their millions of descendants — have a right to return to their ancestral lands. Israel rejects the demand, saying it represents a bid by the Palestinians to destroy Israel by weight of numbers. Israel’s population is almost nine million, some three-quarters of whom are Jewish. An influx of millions would mean Israel could no longer be a Jewish-majority state. Because Israel is a democratically-led nation, the Jews understand that loosing this majority would be catastrophic. If the Palestinians were to gain a numerical superiority, they could take over the government and establish their own system in place of the mainly Jewish government.

To highlight the issues, Israel’s mission to the UN launched a campaign with the World Jewish Congress that will see trucks driving around New York with the message “Don’t erase Jewish history.” Erdan particularly wants to highlight the plight of the hundreds of thousands of Jews who were expelled from Arab lands and their properties confiscated after the establishment of the State of Israel. “By advancing and amplifying on the one side the false and dangerous narrative of the Palestinians and by silencing… the true… tragic stories of the Jewish refugees who were expelled from the Arab countries and from Iran, the UN is erasing Jewish history and distorting the truth and we will never allow this to happen,” Erdan said.

This is yet another example of the United Nations continual assault on the Israeli people. The UN continues to place a favorable bias in favor of the Palestinians and attacks Israel every change that it can get.

Many Say Faith in God Not Required to Enter Heaven

More than three years after Pope Francis sparked a firestorm of religious debate by telling a young boy that his deceased atheist father might still end up in Heaven, a new study from the Pew Research Center shows a majority of Catholic and mainline Christians also believe people who don’t believe in God will go to Heaven. Data for the study, conducted Sept. 20-26, was collected from a nationally representative sample of 6,485 U.S. adults.

 Pew researchers decided for the first time to tackle deep philosophical questions like the meaning of life, the purpose of suffering and why bad things happen to people. The national study was released amid a backdrop of major life-changing events for many, most notably the coronavirus pandemic which has claimed millions of lives globally.

 In discussing American views on the afterlife, the study showed a majority of U.S. adults believe in both Heaven and Hell, but significantly more believe in Heaven. Some 73% reported belief in Heaven, while 62% reported belief in Hell. When it comes to Christians as a group, the study showed that the overwhelming majority supported belief in Heaven. Protestants from historically black and evangelical churches were more likely than mainline Protestant Christians or Catholics to express belief in Hell. And while 39% of all American adults, in general, believe people who don’t believe in God can still go to Heaven, 68% of Catholics and 56% of mainline Protestant Christians were found to hold this belief compared to 21% of evangelicals and 31% of Christians from historically black churches.

 When it comes to suffering in the world, few respondents in the study blamed God. In general, most agreed suffering is due primarily to the actions of people. For majorities of black and evangelical Christians, though, Satan is believed to have a hand in human suffering, too, the study shows. Some 86% of American adults say suffering is at least due in part to random chance. Overall, 44% of respondents said the phrase “sometimes bad things just happen” captured their perspective very well. Another 42% said the statement reflected their views somewhat well.

 Despite this widely held view on the reason for suffering, however, most people didn’t also see suffering as something negative. Some 68% believed “everything in life happens for a reason” and suffering exists “to provide an opportunity for people to come out stronger.”

 For many respondents in the study, the way they view suffering was also connected to their ideas about God. The study found that 91% of Americans believe in God or a higher power, and 80% of this group say that most of the suffering in the world comes from people rather than from God. Some 70% of this group also believe that humans are free to go against God’s plans or that of a higher power.

 While just 44% of all U.S. adults polled for the study said Satan is responsible for most of the suffering in the world, this view had much stronger support among black and evangelical Protestants. Some 69% of respondents in the study who attend historically black churches blamed Satan for most of the human suffering in the world, while 73% of evangelicals were found to believe the same. Less than half of mainline Protestant Christians and Catholics blamed Satan for suffering in the world.

 A move away from the traditional Christian belief that one must believe in God in order to be saved and go to Heaven should not surprise us. In fact, Paul warned that people would “not endure sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3) and that there would be a “falling away” from the faith (2 Thess. 2:3). With large sections of “Christendom” no longer holding onto basic and fundamental doctrine, we may be on our way to this great rise in apostasy.

 PRAY: Pray for Christian churches to rise up and boldly preach the TRUTH of God’s Word.

School District Reinstates “Pornographic” Books Despite Parents' Concerns

The largest school district in the United States said it's reinstating two books to its high school libraries after a review into concerns raised by a mother that they contain “pornography” with graphic descriptions of sex acts between men and boys. Two committees that reviewed and assessed Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison and Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe have unanimously recommended that they remain in public school libraries as “diverse” reading material for students with underrepresented identities Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia has announced.

 “I’m glad that the book has been reinstated, where I hope it will continue to inspire and comfort young adult readers who have been marginalized economically, racially, or by virtue of their sexual identification, so that these young people might find their rightful place within the large culture,” The Washington Post quoted Kobabe as saying in response to the school district’s decision.

 Stacy Langton, the parent of a student in the Fairfax public schools who confronted the school board about the content being accessible to a juvenile audience, said she will appeal the decision in the school system. At a school board meeting in September, Langton had read aloud sexually explicit material and shared graphic images featured in the two books. “After seeing a September 9 school board meeting in Texas on pornography in the schools, I decided to check the titles at my child’s school, Fairfax High School,” she said during the meeting. Langton held up the two books singled out at the Texas school board meeting that are also available in several public high schools in Fairfax County. She said that “both of these books include pedophilia, and sex between men and boys.”

 As Langton asserted that the books' inclusion was “not an oversight at Fairfax High School,” a school board member interrupted her and said the books' content wasn't appropriate for public reading at the board meeting because “there are children in the audience here.” Langton, who didn't appreciate the board member's interruption of her time to speak, added: “Do not interrupt my time. I will stand here until my time is restored and my time is finished. These books are in stock and available in the libraries of Robinson, Langley and Annandale High Schools.”

 A school board member then suggested that teenagers' access to the books is okay because they're only available “for high school students.” However, the majority of high school students are younger than 18, which is the age of consent in Virginia. The sexual activities graphically described in the books between adults and children are a crime. The fact that the board is not even willingly to replace the book with other LGBT books shows just how powerful this movement has become in American society.

 This is yet another example of the evil agenda that is being promoted throughout the United States. Things that would have been abhorrent even ten years ago are now being accepted and even championed. These pedophilia laden books were not simply an oversight by the school districts but are now being defended as legitimate reads for high school students, some that are as young as 14-15 years old. These types of admissions will only further the issues that we have in our nation in regard to sexuality. The Fairfax school board is not the only school board that is pushing these kinds of agendas throughout our public school system. America will continue to devolve into more and deeper levels of sin as long as these types of things are allowed in the lives of our children.

 PRAY- Pray that school boards across the nation will turn away from these types of evil agendas and stand firm on the Biblical principles that our nation was founded upon.

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.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Says Iran is Dedicated to Destroying Israel

This fall, the United Nations marked the 20th anniversary of the World Conference on Racism. It coincided with the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Iran’s new foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, said his nation’s “willpower is dedicated” to the elimination of Zionism at what was supposed to be a UN anti-racism conference. With the United States and 37 other nations boycotting a UN anti-racism conference due to its history of anti-Semitism, Abdollahian invoked the destruction of the Jewish state, perhaps giving the countries who boycotted the conference more reason to have stayed away.

The event, known as Durban IV, had the theme of “Reparations, racial justice and equality for people of African descent.” While the original purpose of the event was combating racism, critics say it has been hijacked by an anti-Israel agenda that turned it into an anti-Semitic hate fest leading the U.S. and Israel to walk out of the first conference.

Abdollahian, who was in New York for the UN General Assembly, said his country opposed all forms of racism while threatening the existence of Zionism.

“As the new foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, I’m honored to announce that my nation’s willpower is dedicated to the total elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, including apartheid and Zionism,” he said. “These are crimes that constitute horrible atrocities such as child killing and the creeping occupation through settlements, which extends to the proximity of Al-Aqsa mosque.”

Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who focuses on Iran, told Fox News, “Abdollahian didn’t mince words: the Islamic Republic will use every opportunity afforded to it to seek ‘the total elimination’ of Zionism. That is code for working towards the destruction of the Jewish state.” Taleblu said the new foreign minister’s words should serve as a warning to the Biden administration about engaging with the regime in Tehran.

“Washington should understand that working zealously to engage Iran with the aims of reviving the flawed 2015 nuclear deal not only makes no strategic sense given Iran’s irreversible nuclear advances in 2021, but would result in yet another infusion of cash to the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism,” Taleblu said. “That would mean men like Abdollahian would be in a greater position to put their money where their mouth is.”

Of the sixty or so countries that had representatives speaking, only three came from the European Union: Belgium, Ireland and Portugal. Also speaking was the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, President of the UN General Assembly Abdulla Shahid and the UN Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet.

Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and president of Human Rights Voices, organized a counter-conference and told Fox News, “For the enemies of Israel who had high hopes that Durban IV would fast track Israel to political isolation and oblivion, the global gathering was instead a major setback. Not only did 34 states boycott, but they boycotted because the demonization of Israel was recognized as a form of modern anti-Semitism.”  She noted that 75% of the countries with leaders speaking at the conference were deemed “not fully free,” according to the definition by Freedom House, which ranks countries based on freedom.

Bayefsky also commented that “Durban IV proved to be an opportunity for the Iranian Foreign Minister to broadcast over UN WebTV around the world a call for the ‘elimination’ of the Jewish state, in effect backing another mass genocide for the one they claim never happened. And yet in the 21st century UN, it was just business as usual and nobody interrupted, cut the mic, or escorted him off the premises.”

This is yet another example of the United Nations’ complete bias against Israel.

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!

China Increasing Nuclear Arsenal

China has begun construction of what independent experts say are more than 100 new silos for intercontinental ballistic missiles in a desert near the northwestern city of Yumen, a building spree that could signal a major expansion of Beijing’s nuclear capabilities. Commercial satellite images obtained by researchers at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif., show work underway at scores of sites across a grid covering hundreds of square miles of arid terrain in China’s Gansu province. The 119 nearly identical construction sites contain features that mirror those seen at existing launch facilities for China’s arsenal of nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles.

The acquisition of more than 100 new missile silos, if completed, would represent a historic shift for China, a country that is believed to possess a relatively modest stockpile of 250 to 350 nuclear weapons. The construction boom suggests a major effort to bolster the credibility of China’s nuclear deterrent, said researcher Jeffrey Lewis, an expert on China’s nuclear arsenal and part of a team that analyzed the suspicious sites, first spotted by colleague Decker Eveleth as he scoured photos taken by commercial satellites over northwestern China. Lewis described the scale of the building spree as “incredible.”

“If the silos under construction at other sites across China are added to the count, the total comes to about 145 silos under construction,” Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, part of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said in a summary of his findings. “We believe China is expanding its nuclear forces in part to maintain a deterrent that can survive a U.S. first strike in sufficient numbers to defeat U.S. missile defenses.”

The discovery follows recent warnings by Pentagon officials about rapid advances in China’s nuclear capability. Adm. Charles Richard, who commands U.S. nuclear forces, said at a congressional hearing in April that a “breathtaking expansion” was underway in China, including an expanding arsenal of ICBMs and new mobile missile launchers that can be easily hidden from satellites. In addition, the Chinese navy has introduced new nuclear-weapons-capable submarines to its growing fleet.

John Supple, Defense Department spokesman, declined to comment on the satellite images or to discuss U.S. intelligence assessments of China’s nuclear program. But he noted “Defense Department leaders have testified and publicly spoken about China’s growing nuclear capabilities, which we expect to double or more over the next decade.”

Missile silos are easily spotted by trained imagery analysts, and they are vulnerable to destruction by precision-guided missiles in the early hours of a nuclear war. For those reasons, Lewis sees the silo construction project as part of an expanded deterrent strategy by a country whose nuclear arsenal is dwarfed by those of the United States and Russia, which collectively possess more than 11,000 nuclear warheads.

In February, Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed in a statement that the Biden administration would “pursue arms control to reduce the dangers from China’s modern and growing nuclear arsenal.” He did not explain how that goal would be accomplished but said the administration would seek “effective arms control that enhances stability, transparency and predictability while reducing the risks of costly, dangerous arms races.”

Since the end of the Cold War, many have pushed to deescalate the nuclear arms race. However, with China expanding its arsenal, a new nuclear arms race could be on the horizon. Many have identified some of the judgments in the Book of Revelation sounding like nuclear fallout, so we could see how a rise in nuclear capabilities as moving closer to the Rapture and Great Tribulation.

Biden Administration May Repeal Rule Protecting Christian Groups at Universities

The Biden administration is reviewing a federal rule that prohibits public universities and colleges from, among other things, removing the funding of religious student organizations whose leadership policies conflict with campus anti-discrimination rules. The U.S. Department of Education posted a blog entry written by Acting Assistant Secretary for Office of Postsecondary Education Michelle Asha Cooper, announcing a review of the “Free Inquiry Rule.”

 In November 2020, the Trump administration passed a final rule centered on protecting the rights of religious student groups at public colleges and universities. The rule, known as the “Improving Free Inquiry, Transparency, and Accountability at Colleges and Universities” regulation, is also called the “Free Inquiry Rule.” The rule came partly in response to legal battles centered on Christian student groups facing punishment from public universities for not allowing non-Christians or those who refuse to adhere to biblical sexual ethics to become leaders of their student clubs.

 According to the summary of the rule, the regulation was created in response to then-President Donald Trump signing Executive Order 13864 in March 2019, as well as recent litigation regarding student rights. “These regulations also require a public institution to not deny a religious student organization any of the rights, benefits, or privileges that are otherwise afforded to other student organizations,” stated the summary.

 In the blog entry, Acting Assistant Secretary Cooper also wrote that following the review, the Education Department expects to publish “a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register to propose rescinding parts of the Free Inquiry Rule. Throughout this process and beyond, public colleges and universities must ensure protection of First Amendment freedoms, including religious freedom and freedom of association, which long predate the Free Inquiry Rule,” she continued. “Compliance with nondiscrimination requirements must be in a manner consistent with the First Amendment. We urge public colleges and universities and their students to engage thoughtfully on these matters.”

 Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which, alongside American Atheists, is challenging the Free Inquiry Rule in court, celebrated the announcement. “We applaud the Department of Education for its willingness to reconsider this harmful regulation, and for sending the message to colleges, universities and their students that this wrong may soon be righted,” said Richard B. Katskee, vice president and legal director of Americans United, in a statement. “We anticipate that the Biden administration will agree with us that discrimination has no place in our public colleges and universities — even if religion is used to justify it.”

 In April, a federal court sided with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, which sued Wayne State University after its official student club status was revoked in 2017. Not being recognized as an official club means that the group can't access benefits that campus groups receive, such as reserving meeting rooms for free and applying for campus funding. Judge Robert H. Cleland of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ruled that other student groups were allowed to restrict their leadership based on sex, gender identity, political partisanship, ideology, creed, ethnicity, GPA or attractiveness. However, the “small group of Christians ... were denied [student organization] benefits because they require their Christian leaders to be ... Christian.” Other courts have also ruled in favor of other Christian student groups, including another InterVarsity chapter that filed similar lawsuits against the University of Iowa.

 Ismail Royer, director of the Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team for the Religious Freedom Institute, a supporter of the "Free Inquiry Rule," stated last year that “This new regulation is an important policy for Muslim student organizations because it allows them to select their own leaders and define their own mission by their faith’s principles.” According to Royer, “This right should be reserved for all student religious organizations, and not usurped by university officials based on their own shifting, unpredictable standards.”

 This is yet another example of secular policies trying to be forced in the public square that would eliminate not only Christians, but many religious groups from being able to function. These secularists will not stop until religious groups that hold to traditional values are eliminated from public dialogue.

 Pray- Pray that the legal system will protect religious students from these secular attempts on university campuses.