PTNews
Published 10 times annually
All Bible references are from the KJV unless otherwise noted
(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)
“Crisis in American Democracy”
by Dr. Albert Mohler, Jr.
The following article by Dr. Albert Mohler, Jr. is quoted with permission. Mohler is one of the outstanding conservative American theologians of our day. He is the current president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. The following article recently appeared on his blog at http://www.albertmohler.com/2016/05/05/crisis-in-american-democracy/
“For nearly two and a half centuries, Americans have enjoyed the enormous privilege and responsibility of forming our own government—a privilege rarely experienced throughout most of human history. For most of history, humanity has struggled with the question of how to respond to a government that was essentially forced upon them. But Americans have often struggled with a very different reality; how do we rightly respond to the government that we choose?
To put all of this in historical perspective, the Framers of the American experiment understood that a representative democracy built on the principle of limited government would require certain virtues of its citizens. These would include a restraint of passions and an upholding of traditional moral virtues, without which democracy would not be possible. As the idea of limited government implies, the citizenry would be required to carry out the social responsibilities of the community without the intrusion of government and, thus, citizens would be expected to have the moral integrity necessary for such an arrangement. The Framers of the American Republic also agreed that it would be impossible to have a representative democracy and a limited government if the people did not elect leaders who embodied the virtues of the citizenry while also respecting and protecting society’s pre-political institutions: marriage and family, the church, and the local community.
Thus, the idea of a limited government requires that society uphold and pursue the health of its most basic institutions. When a civil society is weak, government becomes strong. When the family breaks down, government grows stronger. When the essential institutions of society are no longer respected, government demands that respect for itself. That is a recipe for tyranny.
Much of this was essentially affirmed until the early decades of the 20th century when progressivists began promoting an agenda that fundamentally redefined the role of the federal government in public life. By the middle of the 20th century, the Democratic Party had essentially embraced this progressivist agenda, becoming committed to an increasingly powerful government—a government whose powers exceeded those enumerated in the Constitution. At the same time, the Democratic Party also began advocating for a basic redefinition of the morality that shaped the common culture. By and large, however, the Republican Party continued to maintain a commitment to the vision of America’s founders, advocating for a traditional understanding of morality while also upholding the principle of limited government.
By the 1980s, the two parties represented two very different world-views and two very different visions of American government. For decades, each party has acted rather predictably and in ways that accord with their fundamental principles. All of that, however, has now changed.
The 2016 presidential campaign has developed in an entirely unpredictable manner and, in many respects, represents a crisis in American democracy. This crisis is not limited to either party. Bernie Sanders, the Independent senator from Vermont [now identified with the Democratic Party], has won several stunning victories in the primary season over presumed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. While it is still extremely likely that Clinton will become the Democratic nominee, Sanders support among voters represents a populist flirtation with Democratic Socialism. This pattern is something few Democrats could have imagined just one year ago. What this foray into Democratic Socialism represents, then, is a radical adjustment of the Democratic Party’s basic economic principles. Thus, even if Hillary Clinton becomes the nominee, the process will likely drag her even further to the left, eventually redefining the Democratic Party before our very eyes.
But if it is remarkable to see what is happening in the Democratic Party, it is absolutely shocking to see what is happening among Republicans. Traditionally, the Republican Party has established its reputation by standing for the principles advocated by the American Founders—limited government upheld by the health of society’s primary institutions such as marriage, family, and community. Yet Donald Trump, the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party, represents virtually everything the Republican Party has typically defined itself over against. Clearly, both political parties are now redefining themselves. What is not clear is where each party will ultimately end up. What is also not clear is whether the American experiment can survive such radical political change.
As already noted, the American experiment in limited government requires that the citizenry and those who hold public office honor certain moral virtues and respect the institutions that are crucial for a society to rightly function. Yet, we now find ourselves in a situation where the three leading candidates for president show little to no respect for such institutions in their articulations of public policy.
This fundamental redefinition of the American political landscape requires Christians to think carefully about their political responsibility. Make no mistake; we cannot avoid that responsibility. Even refusing to vote is itself a vote because it privileges those who do vote and increases the value of each ballot. In truth, we bear a political responsibility that cannot be dismissed or delegated to others. Every Christian must be ready to responsibly steward his or her vote at the polls.
To put the matter bluntly, we are now confronted with the reality that, in November, Hillary Clinton will likely be the Democratic nominee and Donald Trump the Republican nominee. This poses a significant problem for many Christians who believe they cannot, in good conscience, vote for either candidate. As a result, Christians are going to need a lot of careful political reflection in order to steward their vote and their political responsibility in this election cycle.
Headlines from around the world tell us that other representative democracies are at a similar moment of redefinition. Political turmoil now marks the United Kingdom and also nations like France and other key American allies. Perhaps democracy itself is now facing a crucial hour of decision and a crucial season of testing. It is no exaggeration to say that democracy is being tested around the world; it is certainly being tested here at home. Yet if this is a moment of testing for democracy, it is also a crucial moment for Christian witness. This election cycle is going to be a particular test for American Christians—and we are about to find out if Christians are up to this challenge.”
-end of Mohler’s article-
I agree with Dr. Mohler’s insight, and in light of the prophetic Scriptures, it is highly likely that the little nation of Israel will be the final remaining island of freedom in a world of political tyranny that will materialize during the Tribulation Period. As we Americans watch our freedoms melt away like snow on a warm spring day, it is obvious that our world is being politically shaped for the deadly regime of the Antichrist and his tyrannical associates. According the Daniel 7:24, the 10-horned beast that symbolizes the final New World Order will precede the little horn, which depicts the Antichrist at the beginning of the Tribulation Period. We are watching the global political winds shift to create this New World Order that will ultimately be a part of the kingdom of the Antichrist. (Revelation 17:12)
John Kerry Speaks of a “Border-less World”
While hinting at the ultimate creation of a New World Order (NWO), U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently spoke to international graduates at Northeastern University. He told them that “they should just go ahead and accept a borderless world, because they can’t stop it.” (http://www.trunews.com/kerry-tells-grads-to-accept-the-coming-borderless-world/) Comments like this illustrate that the present U.S. administration is shaping our country to surrender its sovereignty to an international form of government. The destruction of the America we know as an independent, free, democratic country is in the making. The present structure and leadership of the United Nations is a political marriage of Islam and Communism. Americans are being deceived into embracing both of these forms of totalitarianism.
The NWO is pictured in Daniel 7 as a “beast” that will “devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.” (Daniel 7:23) This one-world government will precede the Antichrist. (Daniel 7:24) He will aggressively attack the NWO that will ultimately be in submission to him. (Daniel 7:24; Revelation 6:2; 13:7) The Antichrist will take his kingdom to the ultimate hellish level of rebellion and blasphemy against the God of the Bible. (Revelation 13:6)
In light of the context of the prophetic Scriptures and the current trends in our world, we are witnessing the formation of the final deadly and godless one-world government that will pave the way for one of the most ruthless and wicked rulers the world has ever witnessed — the Antichrist.
If you would like to know more about the New World Oder, you might want to order Mike’s message (#181): “The Beginning of a New World Order.” This message is available in DVD and CD. See page 8 to place your order.
God Gets The Last Laugh on Climate Change
In the last few decades, the leaders of the world, especially the U.S. administration, have been using deceptive scientific data to promote the threat of an approaching deadly climate change due to man-made emissions. They have been using this false alarm to create restrictions and add economic burdens to America’s industries. Their real goal is to destroy the economy of the United States and exercise more international control, in general, with the aim of ushering in a New World Order. All of this is aimed at satisfying their godless thirst for power over the lives of men. What these foolish and deceptive leaders do not know is that they are not fooling God. They may deceive the majority of the world’s population. However, what they have forgotten, or never realized, is that they are not in control of the climate. God controls His creation, including the climate!
According to the Bible, the weather is under the direct sovereign control of God. Psalm 148:8 proclaims that weather fulfills God’s Word. Psalm 107:25 states that all weather related storms are under God’s command. This is certainly illustrated in the account of Jonah’s rebellion against God. (Jonah 1:4) Jesus demonstrated the power of God over storms on several occasions on the Sea of Galilee. (Matthew 8:23-27; 14:22-33) During the Tribulation Period, the Lord will dispatch four of His angels to restrain the powerful jet streams that drive earth’s water cycle. (Revelation 7:1) This will set in motion a severe global drought during the first half, or 3 1/2 years, of the Tribulation Period. (Revelation 11:6) So, God is in control of all of His weather making instruments– wind, water, sun, etc.
According to the Bible, mankind will face unprecedented and unbearable heat during the final years at the end of this age. During the unique Tribulation Period, God will pour out His wrath upon the wicked and rebellious people who have openly and defiantly rejected Him and His divine law. A great part of His judgment will be increased intense heat and drought, making life miserable and difficult.
Regarding the end of days, the prophet Isaiah declared that the Lord would judge those who change His laws, ordinances, and covenants: “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.” (Isaiah 24:5-6) Without question, there currently seems to be a maddening craze on the part of world leaders to defiantly reject God’s laws that reflect the sacredness of human life, morality, and marriage, all of which are the very basic building blocks of society. (Psalm 2:1-3) There is no recognition of God’s covenant He established with Israel and the Promised Land. (Genesis 12:1-3; 13:14-15) Justice does not prevail in the courtroom and there is no regard for capital punishment, the cornerstone of human government. (Genesis 9:5-6) God’s response will be to turn up the heat!
Proclaiming a similar prophecy, Malachi wrote: “For, behold the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” (Malachi 4:1) The pride-filled and the wicked of our world may think they are in control of their comfortable affairs. They may foolishly think there is no God, or they don’t need God. However, the Lord will deal with their arrogance and sinfulness when they don’t have food and water and are sweltering in unbearable heat.
At the core of the problem in these last days is a real defiant hatred for God. They hate God. They hate His Word. They hate His people — Israel and the church. They hate His holy standards. They reject Him as their Creator, Sustainer, Savior, and Judge. According to the prophetic Word of God, those who openly express their hatred for the God of the Bible in the last days will face His divine wrath. He will turn up earth’s thermostat. “Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.” (Psalm 21:8-9) Jesus warned His disciples that the world would hate them. (John 15:18-25) He said: “They hated me without a cause.” (John 15:25)
As I have already mentioned, the world leaders claim that the climate change that is taking place is due to man-made emissions. Everything from burping cows to burning fossil fuels is to blame — so they say. However, the Scriptures record the real source for real climate change that is coming. Near the end of the Tribulation Period, an angel of God will pour out God’s bowl of wrath “upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. and men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.” (Revelation 16:8-9) The late Dr. Henry Morris, who was one of the founders of the Creation Research Society and Institute for Creation Research, commented on this text: “When he pours out the contents of his great bowl on the sun, it will heat up to great intensity and the solar radiation will pour forth in great waves of scorching heat on the earth.” (Henry Morris, The Revelation Record, A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Revelation, p. 303.) The intense radical solar cycles and flares are the real source for the vacillating warming of the earth’s oceans, not man-made emissions.
In light of these looming prophetic developments in the future, the following report from Breaking Israel News is worth noting: “A recent study predicts that the effects of global warming will be multiplied in the Mideast and Israel, making the region dry and uninhabitable within less than fifty years. …
“Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and the Cyprus Institute in Nicosia have predicted that the Middle East and Africa will be harder hit by global warming than other parts of the world. Summer heat in the region is expected to increase at twice the rate predicted for the rest of the globe, reaching 114 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050. By the end of the century, average midday temperatures could reach 122 degrees Fahrenheit, making the region virtually uninhabitable.
The number of exceptionally hot days has doubled since 1970, but scientists expect that to increase five-fold. Global warming will be exacerbated in the Mideast by airborne desert dust resulting from widespread droughts.” (http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/67074/scientists-warn-extreme-weather-make-middle-east-uninhabitable-within-100-years/#MWo4v6G3bTmOvjIr.99)
As the leadership of the world collectively plots its rebellion against God and His commandments, the Lord has a taunting response. “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.” (Psalm 2:4) They think that they can lie about the weather and get away with it. But, God will get the last laugh!
If you would like to know more about what the Bible says about climate change, you can order Mike’s message (#140): “Global Warming and the Last Days.” In this message, Mike demonstrates that real climate change is coming soon, and it will be a unique sign of the impending judgment of God that will be poured out upon the final generation. This message is available in DVD and CD. See page 8 to place your order.
UN Calls Israel “the Occupying Power” on Islamic Land
The dispute over the ownership of key historical places in Israel continues to escalate. During April, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) executive board passed a resolution in which they recognized the Temple Mount as Al-Haram Al Sharif, and the Wailing Wall (Western Wall), Israel’s second most holy site, to be purely an Islamic site, calling it Al-Buraq Plaza. The resolution called the ancient Jewish graves on the Mount of Olives “fake graves” in “Muslim cemeteries.” It also declared Hebron and Bethlehem to be solely “Palestinian sites.” In these statements, Israel was referred to as “the occupying power.”
These declarations by an official organization of the United Nations illustrates the corruption that exists in this global political body that is being controlled by Islam and liberal Western socialists. The goal is to erase all historical Jewish connection to the Holy Land. They ignore the multitude of Biblical texts and ongoing archaeological discoveries that prove the Jewish people have lived in the Holy Land for more than 3,000 years. I have seen many of these archaeological discoveries myself.
Many prophetic Scriptures indicate this conflict over the Land of Israel will begin with a regional conflict (Ezekiel 36:1-7) that will mushroom into a global conflict, finally leading to Armageddon. (Joel 3:2) These unfounded and absurd statements by UNESCO illustrate that our world is rapidly moving toward the day when the call for Armageddon will take place. The conflict over the Jewish presence in the Holy Land will not end until the Messiah of Israel, Jesus Christ, returns to destroy the enemies of Israel at Armageddon. (Zechariah 14:2-3)
Israel Turns 68
The modern nation of Israel recently celebrated its 68th birthday. The resurrection of the ancient nation in one day on May 14, 1948 is a divine miracle predicted in the Bible. (Isaiah 66:8; Hosea 3:4-5) Not only has Israel survived for 68 years, but it has thrived. As the only true democracy in the Middle East, Israel is an island of freedom in a world of Islamic suppression and aggression. Israel has a growing economy, and is on the cutting edge of agricultural, military, medical, and many other forms of high-tech computer science and innovative technology. Its infrastructure is rapidly advancing. The discovery of large deposits of natural gas and oil are making Israel energy independent. The Jewish state was recently rated as the 11th best country out of 194 in which to live. (The United States finished 13th in the same survey.)
The in-gathering of the Jewish exiles from the Gentile nations is another major fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. When the nation began in 1948 there were only 11.3 million Jews in the world, and only 6 percent of them lived in Israel. Today, according to Israel Breaking News, 43 percent of the global Jewish population of 14.3 million Jews call Israel home. The Jewish population of Israel has come from almost 120 different countries in the last 68 years. God promised: “For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.” (Ezekiel 36:24) And, God is not done yet! The day will come near the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom in which the Lord will cause all of the Jewish people to immigrate to Israel. (Ezekiel 39:27-28)
If you want to see a miracle in the making, come and join me on my next tour this fall. See the ad information on page 7.
Iran Announces that It Can Destroy Israel “in Minutes”
Israel Today recently announced that the religious and military leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran have once again threatened to destroy Israel. “A top Iranian military official this week said the Islamic Republic has the means to destroy all of Israel in a matter of minutes.
‘If the Supreme Leader’s orders [are] to be executed, with the abilities and the equipment at our disposal, we will raze the Zionist regime in less than eight minutes,’ Ahmad Karimpour, an advisor to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, told reporters. (http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/29255/Default.aspx)
In recent days and months, Iran has test fired several of its ballistic missiles to demonstrate it does have the capability to strike Israel with pinpoint accuracy. While this is concerning, Israel is fully prepared to deal with this threat. Israel has several military options to defend itself against Iranian aggression.
Those who love and support Israel need to pray that the Lord will give great wisdom to the Israeli government in preparing to defend the Jewish nation from all enemies that seek its destruction. We can rest assured that the Lord will not allow Iran, or any other nation or terrorist group, to destroy the nation of Israel. Long ago, God promised His chosen people: “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.” (Isaiah 54:17) Also read Psalm 121.
As Iran makes these threats, it is alarming to hear the silence among the nations. Where are the United Nations’ peace keeping promises? Why is there not a global uprising to condemn Iran and warn it concerning its rhetoric? Why is there not an outrage within the U.S. administration? Why does the world not recognize how foolish it is to allow Iran to continue to advance toward the day when they will manufacture and use a nuclear weapon?
One wonders what would happen if Iran were to make these kinds of threats against another country. It is apparent that the world does not really care about Israel. If the truth were known, there are many nations in the U.N. that would rejoice if Israel ceased to exist.
Israel will survive this Iranian threat. However, the day is coming when the demons from hell will lure the kings of the world to join the Antichrist in his final attack upon Israel. (Revelation 16:12-16) All nations will send troops to join the Antichrist and his forces at Armageddon. (Joel 3:2; Zechariah 14:2)
If you would like to know more about what the Bible has to say about Iran’s prophetic future, you should order Mike’s message (#214): “Iran’s Evil Agenda and the End of Days.” This message is available in DVD or CD. See page 8 to order this sermon.
ISIS is Taking Over Libya
Since Muammar Gaddafi was murdered by Islamic radical forces in 2011, Libya has been descending further into chaos and violence. Libya has no central government and no one group, up until now, has been able to govern the nation as a whole. However, several sources are indicating that since ISIS has suffered several defeats in Syria and Iraq, it is setting itself up to take control of Libya. This is significant because the last four years have demonstrated that Libya has been the area from which radical Islamic elements have moved deeper into Africa and Europe. Should ISIS be successful in taking control of Libya, it would be disastrous, especially for northern Africa and Southern Europe.
It is important to remember that Libya is one of the nations mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel that will join Russia and other Islamic nations in the war of Gog and Magog mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39. Iran and Turkey, two other nations mentioned by Ezekiel that participate in the Gog and Magog invasion of Israel, are also presently controlled by radical jihadist leaders who hate Israel. Our world is looking more and more like the world described long ago by the ancient prophets of Israel.