Author: Mike Wingfield

September 2021 – The Calm before the Storm
PTNews
P r o p h e c y T o d a y N e w s
September 2021
Published monthly
All Bible references are from the KJV
(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)
P.O. Box 13006, Roanoke, VA 24030-3006
Download this Newsletter
By Mike Wingfield
We have all experienced the radical changes in our lifestyles since the onset of COVID-19. As 2020 began, who would have predicted the global repercussions of a virus that would impact almost every person on the planet? This serves to illustrate that at any moment, our world can experience a development that can radically alter our lives.
The Bible indicates in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 that at some point in the last days, an event or series of events will bring sudden destruction upon the entire world. No one can pretend to know what will happen or what will trigger this abrupt and life-threatening event. But the Bible does tell us that it will be like a woman who suddenly gives birth to a baby. While no one can predict with exact precision when a baby will be born, there is usually some evidence that gives us an idea of its approximate time of arrival. So, the Bible is saying that the world will be pregnant with warnings of the sudden destruction before it arrives.
One such life-altering event for our world is rapidly approaching. The world has been warned in the last 40 years that Islam is serious about the destruction of America and Israel, the eradication of Christianity, and the establishment of a one-world Islamic Empire, called a Caliphate.
About a year ago, President Donald Trump was leading the United States to openly support Israel. He moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. He declared that the Golan Heights should be recognized as a legitimate part of Israel. He publicly announced that the Jewish communities in the West Bank [biblical Judea and Samaria] were not in violation of any international law. He withdrew the U.S. from the Iranian nuclear deal brokered by President Barak Obama’s administration in 2015. And he advanced peace between Israel and many of her Arab neighbors, called the Abraham Accords. All of these policies helped to make the Middle East more secure with the hope of peace for the first time since Israel became a nation in 1948.
Within a few months of his arrival in Washington D.C., Democrat President Joe Biden took a wrecking ball to all of President Trump’s accomplishments. In the aftermath of his actions, the Israelis and the Sunni Arabs are warning President Biden that he is bringing the region to the brink of a major confrontation with Iran. President Biden refuses to listen to the voices of warning of his own friends in the Middle East. He is determined to renew the former nuclear deal with Iran and to pay them tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief. Everyone in the Middle East knows that this will further embolden Iran to develop a nuclear weapon and ramp up their terrorist war against Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Arab states in the Persian Gulf.
In his first 6 months in office, President Biden has consistently stood on the side of evil in the Middle East. In February, Biden removed the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen from the international terrorist list. He has made known that he supports a two-state solution, forcing Israel to surrender the heart of the Promised Land to an enemy that is sworn to its destruction. He wants the Palestinians to have the old city of Jerusalem [the ancient biblical city of Jerusalem] as their capital. He has unconditionally resumed U.S. financial aid to the Palestinians, who continue to pay terrorists in Israeli jails that have murdered Israelis in the past. In recent weeks Biden has pledged $75 million of U.S. aid to rebuild Gaza, after Israel’s war with them several months ago. Recent history would demonstrate that these funds will end up in the pockets of Hamas to be used to fund the next round of war against Israel.
In a high-level meeting in June with Russian President Vladimir Putin (see photo above), President Biden informed the Russian leader that he did not support Israel’s right to attack Iranian military positions in Syria. For years, Israel has made it clear to the Russians and everyone else that they will not tolerate Iran’s efforts to set up military bases in Syria only a few miles from Israel’s northern border along the Golan Heights. As a result Russia has turned against Israel and is installing a more advanced antiballistic missile defense system in Syria to make life more dangerous for Israeli pilots who attack Iranian military positions in Syria.
It is very apparent that, like President Obama, President Biden is strengthening the enemies of Israel and other U.S. Arab allies in the region. This is dangerous. It is fueling the eruption of a major war in the Middle East. It is a threat to the entire world. He is strengthening the enemies of America – Iran, Russia, and China.
Furthermore, President Biden has ordered the removal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by August 31. This withdrawal of the U.S. military presence in the Middle East is sending the wrong message to the enemies of Israel. They view this as a sign of weakness. It invites them to attack and defeat America and her allies.
A recent article in the International Jerusalem Post listed “10 possible outcomes that American politicians, the military, and intelligence services will have to grapple with in the coming years.
1. Islamic terrorism will find both new and old havens from which to plot mayhem against the U.S. and Israel.
2. Iran will increase its military activity at the region’s two strategic choke-hold points at the Straits of Hormuz and Babel Mandeb, threatening international shipping lanes.
3. With America’s retreat, allies worldwide will know that American security commitments can be expected to have expiration dates.
4. Iran, Russia, and China will be the new superpowers of the Middle East.
5. Israel will be more isolated if Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states move toward Iran out of desperation. Still, Israel hopes they decide to continue normalization (Abraham Accords), seeing them as the better choice of an ally.
6. Iran will feel less inhibited in risk-taking, knowing the U.S. will not want to challenge the Islamic regime, lest it withdraw from the nuclear agreement.
7. Iran will set its sights on Jordan, the next domino to fall, after Iraq and Lebanon, under Iranian influence.
8. The Taliban will retake Afghanistan (see photo on this page), making all the gains achieved for women and minorities disappear instantly. [Note: This has already happened.]
9. The chance for regional conflicts will grow.
10. Nuclear proliferation will arrive sooner or later in the Sunni [Arab] world, to nobody’s benefit.”
Michael Oren, Israel’s former ambassador to the U.S., has said, “If you think the United States as a global power can pull out of the Middle East and not endanger itself, you are deluding yourselves” (The International Jerusalem Post, May 14-20, 2021, p. 19).
Most significant of all, these latest decisions by the U.S. administration to stand with the enemies of Israel will force the curse of God upon the America (Genesis 12:3). President Biden is standing against God. God is the one who has sworn to defend Israel (Psalm 121:4-8; Isaiah 29:7-8; 54:17; Zechariah 12:9).
As the clock keeps ticking toward the day when Iran will have a nuclear weapon, will Israel move against Iran to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities? In recent weeks, the new Israeli leadership has promised that it will do just that. If this happens, what will be the world’s reaction? When Israel defended itself against Hamas in Gaza a few months ago, the world erupted in acts of hatred toward Israel and Jews living around the world. What will be the reaction of Iran’s allies – Russia and China? This could set the stage for the military attack against Israel mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39.
Friends, it is my opinion we are watching the calm before the storm. As America is about to remove its restraining force against Islamic terrorism in the Middle East, evil is ready to escalate at a rapid pace. In the midst of it all, this would be the perfect time for the Rapture.
Be ready for the shout that will take us out!
Islamic Goal: Eradicate Christianity
While American believers sit comfortably in their homes and worship the Lord in their churches without fear, many Christians around the world are suffering for their Lord. In a recent article for Gatestone Institute, Raymond Ibrahim, wrote a shocking 10-page report entitled, “Their Goal is Really to Eradicate Christianity.” (www.gatestoneinstitute.org). Reading this report is very troubling. It openly states and illustrates that the elimination of Christianity is a major goal of Islam. For Islam, Christianity is a religion of infidels that must be eradicated. It is the belief of radical Muslims that this would allow them to invite their Islamic messiah, known as the Mahdi, to appear on the global scene and rule the world.
This is a stark reminder of what is in the future for all believers in Jesus Christ during the horrific Tribulation Period. Jesus warned His disciples, “the time cometh, that whosoever kills you will think that he does God service” (John 16:2).
It is chilling to think that there are people brutalizing, persecuting, and killing believers in Jesus because they believe it pleases their god. To my knowledge, there is only one global religion that promotes this kind of hatred – radical Islam. According to www.opendoors.org, one out of every eight Christians in the world, 340 million, is suffering “high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith” (World Watch List 2021: Trends · Serving Persecuted Christian’s Worldwide (opendoors.org) ). This trend is growing each year.
In our world today, 50 nations are listed as the top persecutors of Christians. They are all Islamic Republics and Communists nations. Where Muslims, Communists or socialists are in control, Christians are facing dangerous trials, unspeakable suffering, and rejection (see photo below). As we watch the advance of socialism in America, Christians have a right to be concerned. It is time to wake up! Christianity is in the cross hairs of the radical left in America. They want to silence us by intimidation and elimination.
The book of Revelation testifies that during the Tribulation Period the persecution of believers in Jesus Christ will become global. The Apostle John in Revelation 7 reported that he saw the souls of the martyrs of Jesus that came “out of great tribulation” (verse 14). These dear saints of God were “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues” (verse 9).
The Lord has a special reward for those who suffer and die in His Name. Revelation 7 records the honor that will be given to them, “Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Revelation 7:15-17).At the end of the Tribulation, these martyred saints will live and reign “with Christ a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4) in His earthly kingdom.
For a comprehensive daily report of global Islamic terrorism, go to: www.thereligionofpeace.com/ . Every believer needs to know about the global advance of Islamic terrorism. We can be glad that we will be raptured before the greatest persecution comes. However, we have no guarantee that American believers will not suffer persecution for their faith before the Rapture takes place. Be aware and pray!
“Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19).
Pray for our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted. “Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body” (Hebrews 13:3).
Jesus declared, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Islam is trying to destroy the church by killing and persecuting Christians. However, their scheme will not work. Church history demonstrates that when the enemies of Christ attempt to destroy the church, it has just the opposite effect. Where the church is persecuted, it grows rapidly. That is what is happening today. The fastest growth in Christian evangelism is in Iran. The second largest is in Afghanistan. Statistical data indicate that in the top 20 countries where the gospel is being accepted, 11 of them are Muslim countries!
This is a testimony to the mercy, grace, and power of the Lord Jesus. Satan cannot stop the gospel. “It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth” (Romans 1:16).
As Muslims suffer at the hands of their religious leaders, Jesus appears to them and comforts them, calling them to salvation. Next month I will share with you why this is a powerful indication that the Church Age is coming to completion.
Israeli Archeologists Discover Ancient Jerusalem Wall
Most of the world continues to deny Israel’s historical right to the Promised Land. However, Israeli archeologists continue to dig up more compelling evidence that proves the accuracy and reliability of the Bible. The Bible repeatedly and consistently declares that in an unconditional, eternal covenant with the Jewish people, God gave them the Promised Land (Genesis 13:14-17; Joshua 1:3-4).
While almost being driven to tears, recent Israeli archeological teams found the remains of a massive wall [16.5 feet wide] that is 2,700 years old. This wall (see photo on previous page) was a part of the defense structure of the city of Jerusalem when the Babylonians defeated and plundered Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
According to the Bible, Jerusalem had survived many attacks until the Babylonians were successful (2 Kings 25:1-10).
An article in The International Jerusalem Post, reports that this team of archeologists found the remains of the wall and some of the houses that were behind the wall. The article reports as follows: “We found ashes that we believe date back to the Babylonian invasion…. [We] uncovered multiple artifacts that offer a glimpse into the daily life of Jerusalem when the wall was still standing, and after its fall in 586 B.C.: fragments of pots, pans and other vessels, seal impressions, some of them carrying inscriptions – for example, ‘lamelech’ (Hebrew- ‘to the king’), which was usually featured on jars used for tax collection. The jars bear ‘rosette’ type handles, in the shape of a rose, associated with the final years of the kingdom of Judah. A bulla, stamp seal impressions made of clay, bearing a personal name, Tsafan, in ancient Hebrew script (see photo on this page) was found not far from a small Babylonian seal stamp made in stone, depicting a figure standing in front of symbols of the two Babylonians gods Marduk and Nabu” (The International Jerusalem Post, July 23-29, p. 17).
The Iranian Threat
The clock is ticking towards Iran’s creation of a nuclear warhead. Thanks to North Korea and others, the radical mullahs in Iran already have the technology to deliver a missile with a nuclear payload. The world has been forewarned. A nuclear Iran will alter the balance of power in the Middle East and threaten to interrupt international peace. Iran is dead serious about its plans to rule the world through an Islamic Empire. This development is one giant step toward the Tribulation Period.
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East, in an article for Gatestone Institute writes, “The Iranian regime appears just a few months away from obtaining nuclear weapons, all while the Biden administration is completely silent and has not articulated any clear policy for preventing this dangerous and predatory regime from becoming a nuclear state like North Korea.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz told ambassadors from countries on the United Nations Security Council during a briefing at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on August 4, 2021: ‘Iran has violated all of the guidelines set in the [2015 nuclear agreement] and is only around 10 weeks away from acquiring weapons-grade materials necessary for a nuclear weapon… Now is the time for deeds – words are not enough. It is time for diplomatic, economic and even military deeds, otherwise the attacks will continue” (www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17653/iran-obtaining-nuclear-weapons, August 21, 2021).
October 9, 2021
August 2021 – The Great Deception at the End of the Age
PTNews
P r o p h e c y T o d a y N e w s
August 2021
Published monthly
All Bible references are from the KJV
(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)
P.O. Box 13006, Roanoke, VA 24030-3006
The Great Deception at the End of the Age
“God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe [the] lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth.” 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12
Download this Newsletter
By Mike Wingfield
Have you ever noticed how eerily dark it gets immediately before a big storm comes? Spiritually speaking, our world is getting very dark, and the great storm of a tumultuous period known as the Tribulation is rapidly approaching. According to the Bible, this will be a very violent storm of God’s wrath that will devastate the world and all that is in it. When this storm is over, the overwhelming majority of the global population will be dead. This great and un-paralleled devastation due to the plagues of God’s wrath will dramatically change the planet. Man’s lifestyle will be critically altered.
I admit that these statements are shocking comments that we would rather not deal with. It is disturbing to our human spirit and it threatens us to our very core. However, God’s Word repeatedly warns us that this is the future of our world. Furthermore, history is repeating itself. God has already judged the world as described above. God’s fury against man’s rebellion became so great that during the days of Noah, He sent a global flood that killed all but eight people who were safely aboard the ark. When it was all done, the world was strewn with debris and devastation.
Jesus said, “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37). The nature of the culture in Noah’s time has been perfectly duplicated once again. In Noah’s day, the world was locked into a cycle of deadly violence. Two times in Genesis 6, the Bible declares, “the earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11, 13). The same text states three times that the entire world was morally “corrupt” (Genesis 6:11-12). Genesis 6:5 seems to be a commentary that summarizes the spiritual climate of the world, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” The rebellion of man had saturated the entire earth. It included all the people [except the eight righteous on the ark], over all the earth, and it was taking place all of the time.
How did the world arrive at such a horrific spiritual condition? This is a very important question. The biblical answer to this question will help us to put into perspective what is happening today.
The Bible declares that Noah represented the 10^th generation after creation. Genesis 5 gives the genealogy of man from Adam to Noah. The New Testament confirms this genealogy. Jude 14 says that Enoch, Noah’s great-grandfather, was of the seventh generation. Adam was still alive during the lifetime of Enoch. According to the chronology in Genesis 5, Enoch was 308 when Adam died at the age of 930.
The Bible tells us that when Enoch was 65 years old, he and his wife had a son, whom they named Methuselah. Something very unique must have happened to Enoch when his son was born. The Bible says that “Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years” (Genesis 5:22). Something occurred at this time that had a spiritual impact upon Enoch, causing him to begin to walk with God. What was it? The Bible gives us a strong hint. The Hebrew name “Methuselah” means “when he dies, it shall be sent.” We cannot pretend to know all of the details, but it is apparent that God must have supernaturally communicated with Enoch that due to man’s wickedness, He was going to bring a massive judgment upon all of the earth. This revelation had an incredible impact on the life of Enoch. Wickedness was rampant upon the earth during his time. Jude 14-15 indicates that Enoch began preaching a message of repentance to his generation 969 years before the flood. Jude tells us that the central theme of his message was that the Lord was about to “execute judgment upon all” (Jude 15). Enoch’s message of warning was a message of mercy from God. God was using him to mercifully call people to repentance to escape the impending judgment that was coming upon the earth.
We know that Methuselah was 969 years old when he died. We also know from the information given to us in Genesis 5-7 that Methuselah died the year that the flood came, just as God had told Enoch. However, we need to remember that Enoch did not know when his son would die. All he knew was that when his son would die, God would execute judgment upon all of mankind. Therefore, as a man who walked with God, he must have wondered every day, “could this be the day?” God rewarded this man’s faithfulness. Enoch must have preached and warned his generation for 300 years. Then, the Bible says, one day “he was not; for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). What does this mean? Hebrews 11:5 tells us, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony that he pleased God.” The word “translated” simply means he was transported from one place to another. He was taken from this earth and supernaturally transported to heaven into the presence of the One he had walked with on earth for 300 years. You could say that Enoch was raptured. He was snatched out of this world by the One who loved him. What a testimony and what a reward!
Enoch’s message of warning was a message of mercy from God. God was using him to mercifully call people to repentance to escape the impending judgment that was coming upon the earth.
According to the information given to us in Genesis 5, Noah was born 69 years after his great-grandfather, Enoch, was taken to heaven. Certainly, some family members and friends would have informed Noah about the great legacy of Enoch. No doubt, they all had heard him preach and remembered how he had warned them to repent. His memory and sudden supernatural disappearance were probably a lingering topic of conversation. We cannot really know this for sure. But what we do know is that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8). The message of the righteousness and the mercy of God had somehow found its way to be sown in the heart of Enoch’s great-grandson. That seed took root and grew.
The Bible tells us that in some ways, Noah was a carbon copy of his great-grandfather. The Scriptures testify that Noah was a righteous man of great faith (Hebrews 11:7). Genesis 6:9 says that he “was a just man and perfect in his generations.” Like his great-grandfather, he also “walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). Following in the shoes of Enoch, Noah too was “a preacher of righteousness” and was warning his generation of the impending judgment of God (2 Peter 2:5). Like Enoch, Noah also received a revelation from God about an approaching divine global judgment. This time God told Noah exactly what he was going to do. God spoke directly to him and said, “And behold I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven: and everything that is in the earth shall die” (Genesis 6:17). In the same spirit of Enoch, Noah was moved by this revelation. Hebrews 11:7 says, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house.”
The reason that God was patient in Noah’s day and today is be-cause in His mercy His messengers are still warning of the coming judgment, and still calling people to repentance to be saved.
Noah was 480 years old when God gave him the revelation about the flood and told him to build the ark. Noah, along with his three sons a few years later, labored for 120 years to build the ark. I am sure that Noah must have kept preaching and warning people. That is what righteous preachers do. He must have kept looking at his grandfather, Methuselah, and kept wondering how much longer he would live. He knew, just as his great-grandfather had preached, when Methuselah would die, then, the flood would come. Noah’s father, Lamech, died when he was 777 years old (Genesis 5:31), only 80 years before the flood. So, as Noah looked at the growing moral corruption and dangerous violence all around him, and his aging grandfather, he must have been greatly pressed to complete the ark. The Bible says, “Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he” (Genesis 6:22).
Looking at this biblical background of the catastrophic judgment of God, we have to ask another very important question. Why did God wait so long to bring the flood upon the earth in response to man’s wickedness and rebellion against Him? From the time that God spoke to Enoch at the birth of Methuselah, God waited 969 years before His judgment fell upon the earth. The Apostle Peter, being filled with the Holy Spirit, gives us the answer. Peter wrote that “the longsuffering [patience] of God, waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing” (1 Peter 3:20). What motivated God to be so patient? While answering the objections of the scoffers concerning the apparent delay in the Second Coming of Christ, Peter responded that the Lord is patient toward us, “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). The reason that God was patient in Noah’s day and today is because in His mercy, His messengers are still warning of the coming judgment and still calling people to repentance to be saved. Jesus came to this earth with the ultimate mission of His loving Father, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
There is another significant question we need to ask. What brought about the sudden end to God’s patience in the days of Noah? Looking at Peter’s revelation, the answer to this question also gives the answer to when God’s patience will run out in the last days and the global judgment of God will come upon the world, called the Tribulation. Genesis 6:3 gives us the answer to this very critical question, “And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man.” The Hebrew word for “strive” means, “to judge, contend, or plead.” It speaks of God’s work through the conscience of man to restrain him from sin and evil. The conscience is a part of man’s inner spirit that indicates he has been created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). The conscience acts as a spiritual judge living within the soul of man that guides him through the maze of evil in the world and points him toward a holy God. The aim of the conscience is to use God’s revelation as the reference point of good and evil (Romans 2:14-15). It is the moral compass of the soul. The work of the Spirit is to accuse man of his sin and to restrain him from sin and its deadly consequences. [For an expanded teaching on this subject, please read my book, Living in a World with No Conscience.]
On the basis of the Scriptures, we can conclude that God continually restrains evil in a culture. When the majority of the population resist God’s restraining efforts, at some point the collective conscience of that culture ceases to function and man’s wickedness and violence explode out of control. When this happens, it demands that our holy God respond with divine judgment. God’s patience runs out and His holy fury unleashes catastrophic results for those in the path of His judgment.
The conscience acts as a spiritual judge living within the soul of man that guides him through the maze of evil in the world and points him toward a holy God. The aim of the conscience is to use God’s revelation as the refer-ence point of good and evil. It is the moral compass of the soul.
After the flood, God in His mercy added several layers of restraint in His attempt to warn people of the consequences of sin. According to Genesis 9, He created human government as an external restraining influence (Genesis 9:5-6). The ultimate restraining influence God invested in human government is capital punishment (Genesis 9:5-6). God’s objective is for human government to use His laws of morality and justice to restrain their culture from evil (Romans 13:1-7). God calls human government his servants. Human government, God’s external restraining influence, and the conscience of man, God’s inner restraining influence, are to act in concert together (Romans 13:5).
According to the chronology of the Bible, 352 years after the flood and the creation of human government, God called another righteous man to Himself. That man was Abraham (Genesis 12:1-2). Abraham was the 20^th generation from the time of creation. God told him that He would make his descendants into a nation. In Genesis 15:12- 21, God told Abraham that four generations after him, his descendants would go down to Egypt and live there. They would remain in Egypt until the sins of the occupants of the Promised Land had become so offensive that He would use the nation of Israel to drive them out. Finally, in 1445 B.C., the Exodus took place, just as God has promised Abraham. During their 40 years of wilderness wanderings, at Mount Horeb, God gave Israel the law, His perfect code for moral righteousness, and governmental justice. In essence, this law became the foundation for God’s external restraining influence for the duration of man’s time on earth.
Finally, God sent His holy Son, Jesus. He guided the people through His teaching to show them how the conscience and the written law of God were to function together. This is summarized in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Jesus taught that He did not come to cancel the law, but to complement the law with His teaching to show how it connects with man’s conscience (Matthew 5:17). He clearly stated that God’s law is eternal. God’s moral compass does not change because it is built upon His unchanging and eternal holy character. Jesus’ ministry was met with resistance because the religious people were convicted of their sins (John 15:18-27).
Adding a final layer of restraint to His efforts to save man, God called and instituted the church. In Acts 2, the church was born. As a few decades passed, it became clear to Jesus’ appointed apostles that the church is a spiritual body of born-again Jews and Gentiles. Unlike believers in the Old Testament, now the Holy Spirit would live in the body of believers. These believers would become the new temple of God. With the completed written Word of God, the New Testament, the church would become God’s ambassadors and the ultimate restraining influence on earth. They would become the salt and light that Jesus referred to in Matthew 5:13-16.
In review, God has three layers of restraining influence in the world to help man resist evil and come to salvation in Him. Layer one is the internal restraining influence in each individual – the conscience. Layer two is the external restraining influence in the world – human government. Layer three is the God-appointed witnesses, filled with His Spirit – the church.
With this biblical understanding, we can now turn our attention to the final question to be addressed in this article. What will happen to trigger God’s patience to cease in the last days and bring His wrath against the global inhabitants as He did in the days of Noah? The answer to this question is found in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.
According to 2 Thessalonians 2, mankind will resist all of God’s restraining influence as it did in the days of Noah. When this happens, there will be an immediate explosion of wickedness, evil, immorality, and violence that will produce a condition of “gross [spiritual] darkness [that] shall cover the earth” (Isaiah 60:2). According to this text, the Antichrist, Satan’s global ruler, cannot be revealed until God’s ultimate restraining influence, the Holy Spirit in the church “be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked [one] be revealed” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8). God will not permit the Antichrist to come until the time is ripe and men resist God’s restraining influence, which is the path that can bring them to repentance and salvation.
When this time comes, God in His holy wrath, will allow man’s spiritual darkness to lead him into a time of His divine wrath on earth [the Tribulation], and ultimately their eternal damnation (2 Thessalonians 2:12). In His holy fury, “God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe [the] lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:11).
This text is clear that the Holy Spirit’s unique ministry through His indwelling in the body of Christ as a restraining influence will be taken out through the Rapture, and then the Antichrist will come. So, how close are we to this event?
God will not permit the Antichrist to come until the time is ripe and men resist God’s restraining influence, the path that can bring them to repentance and salvation.
At this hour, how successful are God’s three levels of restraining influence working to hold back the eruption of a tide of immoral filth and violent blood-shed around the world? International news indicates we are witnessing a dramatic collapse of the spiritual light around the world. The darkness of evil is rapidly descending upon the planet. Due to the proliferation of moral corruption and the thirst to be entertained by violence, the collective conscience of America and the world is seared as if with “a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2). The majority of the global population has no moral compass. The few that do have a conscience are being overwhelmed, threatened, or silenced by the wicked culture.
The governments of the world are united against God as prophesied in Psalm 2. The United Nations is controlled by those who are atheists, or worship some other idol or god. They have lost any ability to restrain evil and instead have become evil and are the enemies of God and His people. They are prepared to follow the Antichrist. The rule of the Antichrist will be Satan’s ultimate tool to deceive the world and resist God’s restraint of evil.
Finally, as prophesied, in the last days the professing churches will turn away from God’s truth and become like the culture, having a form of godliness (2 Timothy 3:1-9; 4:1-4). Far too many churches in America are spiritually dead. They have become nothing more than social clubs that are self-serving. They are not changing the culture, the culture is changing them! They are not striving to be holy and like God. They are longing to be popular and be like a thriving business – church has become big business in America. They are more concerned with pleasing man, rather than God.
As these three levels of God’s restraining influence continue to deteriorate, at some point God’s patience will end and His judgment will begin. He will call the faithful remnant of believers home, just as He did Enoch. When that happens, the world will almost instantly reach the levels of corruption and violence as in the days of Noah.
All of this will be accompanied by the great deception of Satan at the end of this age. They will turn away from the truth and believe Satan’s lies.
As I thought about this the other day, it dawned on me that we have arrived at such a point of great deception. In our culture, people now claim they do not know what gender they are. They are totally confused and completely deceived. If a person has arrived at this point of deception and confusion, they are ready for the next step – to accept Satan’s messiah, the Antichrist, and be damned forever!
Please be “redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16).
Be ready for the shout that will take us out!
Arabs Send Stern Message of Warning to Biden and America
World Israel News reports that many Arabs are sending a message of warning to U.S. President Joe Biden. According to Khaled Abu Toameh, and award-winning Arab journalist based in Jerusalem, “U.S. policies and actions are undermining your credibility among your allies and paving the way for the return of Islamic terrorist groups” (World Israel News, July 20, 2021).
President Biden has announced that the war on terror is over and that U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan beginning at the end of this month. Toameh says that the Arabs in the region are “warning the U.S. that it will pay a heavy price for allowing Afghanistan to fall into the hands of terrorist groups. … The American withdrawal from the region will mark a victory of a political Islamic organization, and the victor always attracts attention and becomes the focus of public attention” (World Israel News, July 20, 2021).
August 6, 2021
July 2021 – Israel’s Government & Antichrist’s Covenant
PTNews
P r o p h e c y T o d a y N e w s
July 2021
Published monthly
All Bible references are from the KJV
(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)
P.O. Box 13006, Roanoke, VA 24030-3006
Israel’s Government & Antichrist’s Covenant
“Wherefore, hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people, which is in Jerusalem.” Isaiah 28:14
Download this Newsletter
By Mike Wingfield
As Americans celebrate their historic independence and freedom as a nation on July 4th, we will collectively be facing the greatest political crisis in the history of this great nation. Those in charge of the federal government are planning the demise of our democratic society. Furthermore, they want to remove all the precious freedoms that Americans have enjoyed since the founding of this nation in 1776. These freedoms are embodied in our founding documents, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. These documents were crafted by our founding fathers, and they are based on the eternal truths found in the changeless Word of God. The laws of this land are in many ways an extension of the moral values given by God to Israel at Mount Sinai more than 3,400 years ago.
God gave these laws to His people, Israel, that they might become a “kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). This simply means that God wanted His people to live in a way that would honor Him as the one and only God (Exodus 20:1-8). He wanted them to be a model for all the other nations to follow. God’s law is founded upon the reality that man has been created in the image of God. Therefore, mankind must respect and honor the life and property of others (Exodus 20:9-17). History demonstrates that any nation or culture that attempts to depart from these foundational truths is in rebellion against God, and invites its own ultimate demise.
Satan, the author of lies, murder, chaos, and destruction, has a track record of deceiving and weakening the nations (Isaiah 14:12; Revelation 20:3, 8). He wants the world to follow him in his rebellion against God. In the beginning, the devil deceived Eve into believing she needed to set herself free from the restrictive commandments of God. In essence, he told her that she could become a god and make her own rules (Genesis 3:1-5). When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they disobeyed God and enslaved themselves and all of mankind to Satan’s rebellion. The Bible says that since that time we have walked “according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now [works] in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2).
This was the beginning of the war in the spirit world between God and Satan. According to the Bible, this war has been raging since that time. The history of this planet is one of ruin, chaos, wars, death, and destruction because man has followed Satan’s way against the path of God, which produces life, peace, and joy.
According to the Bible, we know how the final phase of this war in the spiritual realm will end. It will end with a specific period of seven years. Satan will once again unite the world to be in rebellion against God. We call this “the Great Tribulation.”
The Bible teaches that when this time comes, Satan will unite the world against God and His commandments. According to Psalm 2, the people of the world will unite in open, defiant, disorderly conduct against the law of God. The leaders of the world will set themselves up as god and agree with each other that they must stand against God, His Son, and the commandments of God (Psalm 2:2-3). This is now unfolding, and it is called “the New World Order.”
Currently, there is a spirit of rebellion fomenting across the globe among the nations. The present international political body, the United Nations, is anti-God, anti-Christian, and anti-Bible. The U.N. is preparing the way for the Antichrist! The U.N. is made up of atheists (Communists and Socialists), and Muslims (those who worship another god). Under the banner of peace and security, the U.N. is ushering in a godless New World Order.
The Bible indicates the Antichrist will step onto the stage of human history at a time of global lawlessness and rebellion. According to the Bible, the Antichrist and his global kingdom are depicted symbolically as a wild beast coming up out of a raging sea (Daniel 7:2-3; Revelation 13:1). In the Bible, the ocean is a picture of the chaos and turmoil that exists in a world that is in rebellion against God. The Bible says, “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isaiah 57:20-21).
We have arrived at a very significant point in the political developments of our world. Since the formation of the U.N. after World War II, there have only been two nations that have held back the tide of rejection against God and the foundational guidelines that today are called the Judeo-Christian laws. Those two nations are the United States and Israel.
Both these nations are hated among the nations of the world. The evil powers of this world are eagerly awaiting the demise of America and Israel. They view these two nations as the last bastions of the old world order that honors the God of the Bible and respects His Word. In the eyes of the world (especially China, Russia, and Iran), America and Israel must either disappear or be rendered as useless nations with no power or resources. The blueprints for this world order come right out of hell. Satan is bent on making this happen. As all of this develops, we are looking at the final preparations for the entrance of the Antichrist. As believers in Christ, this means that the Rapture of the church is imminent. As Paul said to the church at Rome, “… for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13:11).
In previous newsletters I have written extensively about the political end of the United States. We are gradually succumbing to the design of the United Nations to become a socialist state. More and more, Americans are beginning to feel like helpless pawns, being forced into an evil power structure that is rapidly forming before our very eyes. The powers of darkness have enveloped our beloved nation with their lies. According to the Bible, America will ultimately join hands with Satan and his Antichrist against God and Israel.
It has become abundantly clear in the last few weeks that Israel is facing a political crisis that is eerily similar to America’s. Since the collapse of the conservative, right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018, Israel has been in a state of political turmoil. During this time, they have had four major elections to form a government. The Israeli population is divided between the conservative religious traditionalists and the more liberal secularists. [Does that sound familiar?]
Before I proceed, let me attempt to explain the complicated political system in Israel. Israel is a true democracy. The government is directed by the Jewish parliament in Jerusalem, called the Knesset. This political body of 120 members is elected by the public to a four-year term. In this election, the people do not vote for a person, but for a political party. In recent years there have been about 10-12 political parties. Each party selects its list of leaders. Based upon the number of votes each party receives in the general election, they are assigned a proportionate number of seats within the Knesset. No party has ever received enough votes to have a majority number of seats to form a government. Therefore, the leader of the party with the most seats is usually given about a month to negotiate with other parties to reach a majority of seats (61-plus) and thus form a government.
This government is elected to a four-year term. The coalition government crumbles if some of the leaders withdraw their support and remove themselves from the coalition, leading to its failure to maintain a majority number of seats. If this happens, a caretaker government is formed and a new election is called to be held within three months. Then, the whole process takes place again.
In recent years, no government has lasted the entire four-year term. Since 2018, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s party has received the most votes. But he was only able to form a coalition government once, and it tumbled after a few months.
Netanyahu has served as Prime Minister of Israel longer than any person in the history of the modern Jewish nation. Until recent events transpired, he had served as Prime Minister for more than 12 consecutive years.
During that time, the opposing parties grew very weary of Netanyahu’s popularity and power. Using their influence with the media, journalists, educators, and the judicial system, they began a movement to get rid of Netanyahu. [Does that sound familiar?]
In the latest election a few months ago, Netanyahu’s party received more votes than other parties. After about a month of political maneuvering, Netanyahu failed to create a majority coalition. His political opponents hated him so much they were determined to not allow him to continue as the Prime Minister of Israel. [Does that sound familiar?]
With Netanyahu’s inability to reach a majority of seats to form a government, a liberal party headed by Yair Lapid, a former journalist and television personality, was given a chance to form a government. He and eight other political
Yair Lapid
parities hate Netanyahu so much that they agreed to lay aside their political differences to form what they are calling a “unity government.” [Does that sound familiar?]
These eight political parties represent a wide spectrum of the political persuasions in Israel. They represent the liberal left, the extreme right, and most surprisingly, the United Arab Party, with their leader Mansour Abbas. This is the first time in the history of Israel that the Arab members of the Knesset have been a part of the government leadership. Abbas does not call himself an Israeli Arab, but a Palestinian Arab. He is a Muslim and a member of the Islamic Brotherhood, which has sworn to the destruction of Israel. The inclusion of this party in this coalition demonstrates that these leaders have allowed their hatred for Netanyahu and political ambitions for power to become more important than what is best for their country. [Does that sound familiar?] They are willing to share the leadership of the country with a group in their ranks that wants to replace Israel with a Palestinian State.
The majority in this new government, not only hate Netanyahu, but they also oppose the Zionist agenda that calls for Israel to be a Jewish state, led by Zionist principles. They want to remake Israel into a purely godless secular state. [Does that sound familiar?]
Zionism is the nationalist movement among the Jewish people that seeks to establish and maintain a Jewish presence in the land of Israel. It believes that the Jewish people have a right to their ancient homeland that God has given unto them in an eternal covenant. It seeks to call all Jewish people to return to the Promised Land.
In the truest sense of Zionism, the Jewish people will seek to renew and strengthen their commitment to the Torah [Law] of God. This will include their commitment to the laws of the Sabbath and the feasts of Israel.
Some in this new government want to get rid of the Sabbath law restrictions. They want open public transportation on the Sabbath. They want business establishments to be open on the Sabbath. They want to recognize gay marriages and civil unions. In essence, they want to fundamentally change Israel so that it will no longer be a Jewish state. This is why they are willing to embrace the inclusion of the Arabs in this new government. It does not matter to them that the Arabs oppose the Jewish state’s right to exist.
This new government in Israel is committed to unraveling all of the great past achievements of Netanyahu. [Does that sound familiar?] They are seeking to erase Netanyahu’s diplomatic triumphs.
Many in this new government are willing to make great sacrifices to appease the world and the Palestinians. Some advocate the recognition of a Palestinian State on the West Bank [biblical Judea and Samaria]. They are willing to surrender most of the West Bank territory, the Golan Heights, and East Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett
In order to form this coalition, they agreed to allow Naftali Bennett, who represents a political party that is of the far right and would oppose all of things mentioned above, to serve the first two years as the Prime Minister. During this time, Yair Lapid, of the more liberal persuasion, will serve as the Foreign Minister. Then, after the two years, they will swap political roles. This arrangement was created to lure these parties into a coalition because they needed to reach the majority number of seats to have a government.
In essence, this makes this a very weak and fragile government. They must agree to disagree on many issues to lead the country. Within this government, the left will oppose the right and the right will oppose the left. Some in Israel believe that this government will soon collapse, forcing them into a fifth election.
The one thing they all agree on is the opposition to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. They all recognize that a nuclear Iran is an existential threat to Israel and most of the Middle East.
According to the Bible, Israel now has a government that is anti-God. They want to make Israel like all of the other nations. They want to remove the very laws and traditions of Zionism that have been a part of the nation of Israel and the Jewish people since the days of Moses. This goes against the purposes of God.
Furthermore, Israel now has a government like the one the Bible describes will enter into a covenant of the Antichrist. The Bible tells us that Israel will confirm a covenant with the Antichrist. This covenant will thrust the world into the seven-year Tribulation Period (Daniel 9:27).
In an amazing passage, the prophet Isaiah gives us God’s viewpoint on the details of this covenant in Isaiah 28:14-22. This passage begins with God speaking to Israel’s godless government. “Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem” (Isaiah 28:14). In verse 22, God calls these leaders “mockers.” These two words indicate that these leaders are in frivolous contempt of what is good and upright. They do not honor nor respect the Lord and His Word.
According to Isaiah, these leaders will be opposed by those in Israel who are clinging to the Messianic hope, God said, “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that [believes] shall not make haste” (Isaiah 28:16). Here, God is saying that those who have this hope will not be so quick to embrace this government. At this current time, the religious community in Israel has declared war on their new secular government.
God reports that these spiritually blind political leaders in Jerusalem will ignore all the warnings around them. They will act very foolishly. God says the covenant they will sign will become “a covenant with death” (Isaiah 28:15). He calls it an agreement with “hell” (Isaiah 28:15).
These leaders will be driven by appeasement of Israel’s enemies. Foolishly, they will take refuge in the lies of these enemies (Isaiah 28:15, 17). While Israel strives for peace, their enemies deceptively plan for war.
According to Isaiah, these leaders accept this covenant to avoid a massive war against Israel. This is the meaning of the words, “when the overflowing scourge [war] shall pass through, it shall not come unto us” (Isaiah 28:15).
Daniel tells us that at the mid-point of this seven-year covenant, the Antichrist will break this treaty and attack Israel, taking over the Temple area in Jerusalem (Daniel 9:27). Also see 2 Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 11:2.
Isaiah reports that the covenant the leaders in Israel have accepted will collapse and that Israel will be flooded with the very war they were trying to avoid (Isaiah 28:18).
God informs these leaders that their foolish actions will create a time of “vexation” [terror] (Isaiah 28:19). All of Israel’s past attempts to appease the world and the Arabs have produced an increase in terror and wars against the Jewish state. In verse 20, Isaiah gives a colorful picture of how uncomfortable and unbearable this covenant will be. It is like a man that wants to go to bed to rest. However, “the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it” (Isaiah 28:20).
Isaiah proclaims that God will rescue Israel from ultimate destruction in this war – Armageddon. He points to two historical examples when God supernaturally intervened on behalf of Israel when they were facing great odds. First, in Isaiah 28:21, he mentions Israel’s defeat of a massive army of the Philistines that were gathered against King David and his forces. 1 Chronicles 14:10-17 gives the details how God supernaturally aided Israel to defeat their enemies. Second, Isaiah mentions the supernatural defeat of the kings of the Amorites in Joshua 10:6-11. God accompanied the attack of Joshua’s army with a massive storm of great hailstones as the enemy fled from them.
Once again, at Armageddon, God will fight in behalf of His people (Zechariah 14:2-3). Israel’s enemies will be defeated by God’s supernatural intervention with the aid of His creation (Zechariah 14:12, 15).
Isaiah calls the Lord’s salvation of Israel at Armageddon “his strange work,” and “his strange act” (Isaiah 28:21). This means that this work will be a supernatural work that only God can bring to pass. Dr. Ava J. McClain, the former founder and president of Grace Theological Seminary, writes that these words indicate this covenant is the one connected to the Tribulation Period (Alva J. McClain, The Greatness of the Kingdom, p. 188). Furthermore, Isaiah indicates that all of this will come to pass at a time when there will be “a consumption [complete destruction], even determined upon the whole earth” (Isaiah 28:22). Obviously, this is a reference to the global destruction that will take place at the end of this age during the Tribulation Period (Isaiah 13:6-13; 24:1-23).
My friend, do you realize what is happening at this hour? The United States and Israel are openly embracing godless governments that have plans to join the evil New World Order. Humanly speaking, they have been the only restraining influences holding back the tide of godless, wicked, violent rebellion on planet earth. The kind of world that will survive the collapse of these two governments that were founded upon the Judeo/Christian values will prepare the way for Satan’s Antichrist.
We are on the threshold of very dramatic events that are rapidly shaping our world for the final drama between heaven and hell. The Bible informs us that while these leaders are deceptively calling for “peace and safety; then sudden destruction [will come] upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
When the Rapture takes place, the church, God’s spiritual restraining influence, will be taken out (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7). Immediately after this, the Apostle Paul says, “And then shall that Wicked [one] be revealed” (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
Be ready for the shout that will take us out!
American Jews Face Increasing Anti-Semitism
Almost 6 million Jews live in America. In recent weeks they have expressed their concerns about the increased hatred and acts of violence against the Jewish population. It is now reported that 77 percent of American Jews are concerned, and many are afraid of what the future holds. Could this be the beginning of the departure of the American Jewish population to Israel?
According to the Bible, there will come a time when the floodgates will open and all of the Jews will return to Israel. Following the war of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38-39, God says he “will bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name” (Ezekiel 39:25). During this time, God declares He will “[gather] them out of their enemies’ lands … [and gather] them unto their own land, and have left none of them anymore there” (Ezekiel 39:27-28).
Earthquake Strikes Red Sea Area
On June 15, a 4.2 earthquake was felt in southern Israel northeast of Eilat, near the Red Sea. Once again, Israeli geologists reminded the Israeli public that according to the geological history and data collected in Israel, a massive earthquake is due to the nation strike at any time.
According to the prophetic Scriptures, there will be a series of massive earthquakes in Israel and the surrounding region. An earthquake will play a major role in the defeat of the enemies of Israel at the Gog and Magog invasion (Ezekiel 38:19-20). Other earthquakes will take place at the mid-point of the Tribulation in Jerusalem (Revelation 11:13). The big one will strike when Christ returns at the end of the Tribulation (Zechariah 14:4-10; Revelation 16:18-21).
Great Israeli Archaeologist Dies
Israel is mourning the loss of a great archaeologist – Dr. Eilat Mazar of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archeology. She suddenly passed away at the age of 64 on May 25, 2021.
God used her as a great instrument to open the eyes of the Israeli public to see the Bible as a trustworthy book. Before Mazar’s work, many of the liberal Jews living in Israel did not believe that the Bible is the Word of God, making it a supernatural book. They viewed the Bible as a collection of fictional stories. They said that all the people in the Bible were nothing more than mythological figures. Then, God sent Mazar to get in the face of these scoffers.
Mazar entered the world of archaeology a few decades ago when most Israeli geologists had little respect for the Bible. Whenever she went out to the archeological dig, she carried “her heavily bookmarked Bible” (The International Jerusalem Post, “Eilat Mazar, the archaeologist of Jerusalem”, June 4-10, 2021, p. 25). In her office and out in the scorching sun, “in both settings, the Book of Books always accompanied her.” She was quoted as saying, “I work with the Bible in one hand and the tools of excavation in the other. … The Bible is the most important historical source and therefore deserves special attention.”
Mazar was the director of the very significant archeological work at the original city of David in Jerusalem. Under her leadership, many very momentous finds proved the historical accuracy of the Bible. She discovered many items with names that appear in the Bible, including the royal seal of King Hezekiah. She discovered the palace of King David, and the pool of Siloam, among many other very significant biblical proofs. Among her colleagues, she earned “the title of the greatest Jerusalem scholar of the generation.”
The Lord is using all of this to prepare the hearts of Israelis to listen to the Bible with great respect. That is important, because “Faith [comes] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). The day is coming when a great moving of the Spirit of God will open the spiritually blind eyes of millions of Israelis and all of living Israel will be saved (Romans 9:25-26).
June 28, 2021