Two thousand years ago Jesus was asked a question, which is very relevant to our world today: What will be the signs of your Second Coming and the end of the world? What followed is known as the Olivet Discourse as chronicled in Mathew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. At that time and across the centuries it has been a stunning account of what is yet to come. Dear friends, those days and times foretold, are upon us now.
“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew 24:4).
But we have been and are being deceived. The deception’s been incremental taking place over many years. We’ve been desensitized to the ways of God and distracted by the offerings of the world. Never forget that the mass media is a 24-hour a day, non-stop propaganda machine spewing the lies of Satan’s plans. The ongoing process of secularizing our once Christian nation has become so accepted that many churches and entire denominations have bought into it.
Noted Army Chaplain, Colonel Jim Ammerman, once told me that many people go to church on Sunday to hear a lost man preach. Instead of the watchman’s cry, congregations are offered a soothing lullaby. It’s interesting how the eyes can adjust to increasing darkness so that darkness becomes normal, even comfortable. Pardon me, but I’m about to turn on the light of truth. For some, this could hurt your eyes. That’s okay. Your eyes will adjust to the light─provided that you open them.
“And when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled; for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be earthquakes in diverse places, and there shall be famines and troubles; these are the beginnings of sorrows” (Mark 13:7-8).
The aforementioned propaganda aside, the content of these two verses dominate the actual news headlines today. So what’s next in the prophetic timeline?
Persecution.
“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then ye shall be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another” (Matthew 24:9-10).
Jesus’ disciples suffered these things, as have Christians throughout history. Jesus tells us that we will too. In the Middle East, Africa and Asia, persecution happens to Christians every day. As you read this, it’s happening somewhere right now. Ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. Looking the other way doesn’t keep it from coming; you simply don’t see it coming. But it can’t happen here… We’re America, we’re special! After all, we lead the world in pornography production and consumption. And we’re working to offset our shameful divorce rate by allowing homosexuals to marry. We even let them adopt and have children, just not any of the 60,000,000 babies aborted since Roe v Wade.
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).
Our nation’s sins are legion and grievous before God. Such is judged─not blessed and protected. Most Jews in Germany, even most ethnic Germans didn’t see the horror that was coming to their nation. They didn’t recognize the steps that the Nazis were taking or where those steps were leading. How the persecution of Christians in our nation is advancing is akin to assembling a puzzle.
Each piece, by itself, may appear indistinguishable and random. Yet, put those pieces together and the image is revealed. Here in the US there are two parts of the persecution puzzle: Population preparation and implementation. Let’s look first at population preparation.
Education: In 1962, the Supreme Court declared prayer to be illegal in the public education system by virtue of the non-existent but nevertheless manufactured idea of a “Separation of Church and State.” Education has since degenerated into a godless indoctrination system where Christianity is openly mocked and denigrated while every form of evil is force-fed to young minds. No mention of Jesus at High School graduations, no prayers to God at athletic events. Even pointing a finger to the sky after winning a relay race can get the team disqualified from further competition, as happened recently in Texas.
Many colleges and universities have become Marxist led, Muslim friendly “useful idiot” factories. By the way, Joseph Stalin coined that charming phrase. The anti-Christian programming is reinforced by the entertainment industry through movies, TV, music and even comic books. Did you know that the Bible is full of “hate speech” and that any Christian who believes in what it says is a narrow-minded bigot? Were you aware that to oppose any of Obama’s destructive policies means that you’re a racist? No? Well obviously you need education.
Law Enforcement: In 2008, then candidate Barack Obama, referred to the need to have a civilian national security force, just as well-funded and equipped as the US military. Hitler needed an internal security force too, as did Lenin, Stalin, Chairman Mao, the Kims in North Korea, Castro, Hussein, and the Ayatollahs in Iran, to name but a few. By happy coincidence! We also have one. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was founded under George Bush to protect us from terrorists by taking away OUR rights and curtailing OUR freedoms. Wait! That doesn’t make any sense.
Anyway, the DHS has really hit its stride under Obama. If you’re a Christian who believes in the Bible, a returning war veteran, are pro-life, pro-gun, oppose the homosexual agenda, believe in the Constitution or give too much money to your church, you are a potential domestic terrorist, according to the DHS. Correspondingly, and we’re told (for our own good). Government agencies read our e-mails, monitor our Internet activity and listen to our phone calls without warrant.
There are “trainings” across the nation like the two-hour seminar that took place recently in Colorado. State Trooper Joe Kluczynski, warned law enforcement attendees about the “anti-government extremists” who would have to “be monitored and controlled by law enforcement.” His definition of these extremists included those who: “Believe that America was founded on godly principles, Christians who take the Bible literally, and fundamentalists.”
Sound familiar?
State Trooper Joe even asked those present, if they were “willing to confiscate illegal weapons” if ordered to do so. This sort of psychological conditioning is the norm, not the exception. Trooper Joe is leaving the Colorado Highway Patrol for a job with: you guessed it, the DHS.
Military: The Pentagon has announced that Christians cannot openly share their faith, under threat of court martial. This is consistent with the ideas of new Pentagon advisor Mikey Weinstein, who’s stated that Christians are “human monsters” and that talking about your faith is “spiritual rape” and that practicing your faith is an act of “treason and sedition” that must be “punished.” The sick joke here is that Weinstein is to advise the Pentagon on religious tolerance.
This on the heels of LTC Jack Rich sending his e-mail to subordinates stating that traditional Christian faith is: “Inconsistent with Army values.” Can it be made any plainer to us? Of course, such madness does not extend to Islam. In fact, it’s just the opposite. After letters of complaint from Islamic groups and subsequent administration appointments of senior Muslim advisors throughout our government, all references that are deemed offensive to Islam have been removed from military, FBI, and State Department anti-terrorism training. That’s right; the enemy who wages Jihad against us isn’t the enemy. Christians are.
An Air Force officer was told to remove a Bible from his desk because someone may conclude that he was condoning a particular religion. Isn’t that the point of religious freedom? Yet the Air Force seems to be condoning a particular religion as they’re now advertising in Muslim publications for chaplains. Any opposition to Islam is labeled “Islamophobic” and subject to disciplinary action, as happened to LTC Matthew Dooley for daring to teach a course titled, “Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism.”
Prior to the current regime, LTC Dooley and his class were highly praised. And now? Obama’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, stated that the course was “against our values.” LTC Dooley has been stripped of his teaching duties. It turns out that the truth about Islam offends Muslims when it’s taught to non-Muslims (can’t let the infidels know what’s coming for them). Other high-ranking officers have been relieved of command and even retired due to their non-conformance to this unconscionable evil.
Can you imagine, during WWII, hiring Nazis to advise us how to deal with Nazis and purging our military of those who opposed Nazism? That insane scenario is today’s reality with our pro-Muslim, anti-Christian president. An update to the: Uncle Sam Wants You poster might read: “If you’re atheist, Muslim or homosexual, Uncle Sam Wants You: If you’re a Christian, shut up or get lost. We’ll hunt you down later, maybe sooner than later.”
This seems an appropriate place to insert: “I’m Barack Obama and I approve this message.”
These are but a few of the examples of the dehumanization of Christians and the demonizing of the Christian faith. Look around you. Read a headline or news story. This is the mental set-up to accept and even demand the persecution of Christians in the US; a necessary prelude to what Jesus said is coming.
What about implementation?
Our protectors in the DHS have purchased 2 billion rounds of mainly hollow point ammunition, they claim, for target practice. The question is who are the targets? Perhaps the answer lies in the DHS purchase of two million dollars worth of “No More Hesitation” targets. They’re the next best substitute for the real thing. These cardboard targets depict a pregnant woman, a mother in a school ground, an older man, an older woman, a teenage girl, a young girl and a young boy. Sound like anybody you know?
Add to this the purchase of 2700 armored MRAPs, portable bullet-proof toll booths with gates, and the widely-reported FEMA facilities that are set-up around the country, many with railroad access. But wait, that’s not all! There are large numbers of foreign troops in our country who would have no problem following any order given them. Whatever those orders might be, the mission becomes easier with the use of drones patrolling our skies. Armed or unarmed at this point is immaterial to the discussion. When the time comes, they’ll be armed. Billions of dollars have been spent training and equipping state and local law enforcement, militarizing them under federal direction.
Either a massive invasion is imminently anticipated or the enemy is already here. Let’s narrow the choices. Why is there such an unrelenting effort to disarm you? Hmm.
I’ve heard the stammer: “But, but, we have the Constitution to protect us.”
Really?
What’s left of it is facade only─a false hope to dull the awareness of an oblivious population. It means nothing to the powers-that-be, but if your faith in it keeps you pacified in the interim, great. Makes their takeover easier.
Through various bipartisan passed laws and issuance of executive orders, the political elite illegally granted themselves unlimited power and authority. Is it unconstitutional? Yes, for a long time now. Have they done it anyway? Yes, and we’ve accepted it. An emergency can be declared for any reason, at which point, even the illusion of freedom will be gone. For example, all food, water, transportation, fuel, industry, storage facilities, utilities, communication, medicine and private property can be commandeered. Included in this grab are you and your family. It’s rule by decree.
Some laws and Executive Orders are secret, meaning you can be detained, tortured or executed under those provisions and never know why. No right to trial, no rights at all. Has the image of the puzzle emerged for you? Take heart, my brothers and sisters. Just as your Christian faith has no place in the emerging Antichrist system, your Christian soul, redeemed by the blood of Jesus, has no place in hell. Stand Firm. This God-given gift of life is not your destination: It’s only the journey. Live it as such. All human existence intersects in either heaven or at the White Throne of Judgment.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)
Hold this perspective in your mind. Everything can be taken from you, including your life, but only you decide the destiny of your soul.
“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake” (Luke 21:17).
That’s a declaration, not a maybe.
“But there shall not a hair on your head perish. In your patience [faith] possess ye your souls” (Luke 21:18-19).
Make a daily commitment to read your Bible and pray. Increase in faith, and by virtue, courage. All other preparations are secondary to this. Be the spiritual warrior that God has ordained you to be at this time and place of prophetic fulfillment.
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
May the Lord’s peace be with you as you ponder these: things.
Patrick