Politics – Page 15 – Prophecy Today News

November 2019 – Fear Not!

November 2019

Published monthly

All Bible references are from the KJV

(Examining the News in Light of Biblical Truth)

P.O. Box 13006, Roanoke, VA 24030-3006

Fear Not!

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2).

By Mike Wingfield

In the last 30 years, I have had the privilege to travel across America and speak in hundreds of churches about major prophetic themes that relate to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This journey has led me to discover the troubling spiritual condition of the American evangelical church. It is sad to report that I have witnessed the rising apathy and apostasy that are sweeping across this land like an infectious disease. I have witnessed this plight because as a conservative pastor, I am only invited to speak in conservative evangelical churches. And while the situation in the evangelical churches is becoming grimmer every day, the plight within more liberal mainline denominations has reached a critical level.

I am convinced that the message the Lord has given me is not being well received in many churches. And this includes churches that are considered conservative and evangelical. Simply stated – many pastors and church members do not want to hear messages about the Second Coming of Christ. One of their leading responses is that Biblical prophecy frightens people. A friend of mine who attends a very large evangelical church in downtown Roanoke, Virginia, told me that he asked his pastor if he would consider inviting me to come and speak to his congregation. The pastor, whom I have met and who knows about this ministry, responded by saying he could not invite me. When my friend asked him why, the pastor answered, “If we invited Mike to come and speak, He would scare everyone.” How should we interpret this response by a pastor to the doctrine of the Second Coming?

It is alarming to me that the same people who claim that Bible prophecy is scary, enjoy the world’s entertainment that is filled with things that cause people to shriek with horror. They openly embrace this kind of entertainment, while they refuse to consider God’s prophetic truth. They support the dark side by celebrating Halloween. However, they do not want to hear the prophetic truth about the reality of an approaching war between God and Satan. These people may be members of a local church, but they are not acting like true believers. Instead, they are following the path of those who are running from God and want no association with Him.

The doctrine of the Second Coming is a major theme in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. It is estimated that more than one-fourth of the Bible is prophetic. About one-third of the New Testament is prophetic. The last book of the Bible is completely dedicated to the revelation of Jesus Christ at the end of this age. Therefore, to avoid Biblical prophecy is to ignore a major portion of the eternal, unchanging Word of God! Someone has calculated that the Bible mentions 1,846 prophetic events and circumstances of our Lord’s Second Coming that have not been fulfilled.

Any preacher who avoids this massive body of Biblical revelation in the Holy Word of God is failing to preach the whole counsel of God. When the Apostle Paul gave his farewell message to his dear brothers in Christ at the church of Ephesus, he said, “And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:25-27). I am convinced that when the Apostle Paul stated that he was “pure from the blood of all men,” that he was referring to the commission given to the prophet Ezekiel. Every pastor and teacher of the Word of God should read and heed this commission in Ezekiel 2-3. God has never called His messengers to avoid speaking words that are not offensive. He has not called us to please people. God has always called His servants to deliver a message of warning from Him. God told Ezekiel that those who heard him would not like his message and they would reject him. Yet, he told Ezekiel to go and proclaim God’s message so that the blood of the people, on the judgment day, would not be upon his hands. All of God’s messengers in Biblical days were hated and rejected by the godless people around them. Furthermore, they killed Jesus because they did not agree with His message.

Those who only proclaim a message that is popular with people are not pleasing God. The Apostle Paul said, “If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). God is looking for men of God who do not fear men or seek to please men, but only fear God and are determined to please God at any cost! Jesus spoke to the godless people in His day and said, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26). I fear that too many pastors in conservative evangelical circles have churchianity, but not Christianity. They are building a church empire around themselves that will feed their pride, their pocketbooks, and their popularity. They refuse to preach on hell, judgment, sin, or the Second Coming of Christ. Woe be unto them!

According to the Bible, a true child of God, walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, should not fear anyone or anything but God! Jesus said, “And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him” (Luke 12:4-5).

I have noted that throughout the Bible, the true child of God is marked by a holy boldness. When God called Joshua to take the leadership of Israel to drive out the wicked inhabitants of the Promised Land, God said to him, “Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee; turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:7). Later, when God chose Gideon to defeat a massive army that had come against Israel, He instructed Gideon to send all of the soldiers home who were afraid (Judges 7:3).

Most people who attend our churches today do not know that we are constantly at war with wickedness and the spiritual forces of darkness (Ephesians 6:12-13). When we proclaim God’s Word we are involved in spiritual warfare. We are confronting the gates of hell in the power of the Holy Spirit because the Lord has promise us, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

The book of Acts, which records the history of the beginning of the church, helps us to understand that God is not looking for passive cowards to serve Him. He desires for us to be kind, loving, humble and courageous servants of Christ. There is no place for spiritual cowards in the army of Jesus Christ. Those who follow Him must completely surrender their life to the Lord for His purposes, even if it means death (Luke 9:23-24). According to Jesus’ words, this is not just a mark of the spiritual giants who follow Him. It is a distinguishing characteristic of true disciples who passionately follow Him and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Years ago, when I was preaching through the book of Acts, I noted that the believers in the early church who were filled with the Holy Spirit were also filled with boldness (Acts 4:13, 29, 31). When the Holy Spirit controls a person, he is filled with courage to do what God has called him to do. God is looking for people who are “bold to speak the word without fear” (Philippians 1:14).

It is our calling to warn people that the wrath of God is about to fall upon this wicked generation. That is not a message they want to hear. In today’s culture, people want to hear a nice, soothing message that lulls them into a spiritual slumber. Isaiah continually spoke of the coming of the Messiah and the day of His judgment upon Israel. The wicked people of his day refused his message and declared, “speak unto us smooth things” (Isaiah 30:10). The Apostle Paul warned us that in the last days the apostate church would have a “form of godliness, but [will deny] the power thereof” (2 Timothy 3:5). He declared that this self-centered church would not be focused upon the truth of God. Instead, the collective churches would surround themselves with preachers that will scratch them where they itch (2 Timothy 4:3-4). We have arrived at that day!

We desperately need preachers today that will sound the wakeup call to the church. The signs of the time tell us that we shall all soon stand before Judge Jesus. Those left behind will face the wrath of God during the horrific Tribulation.

When the true child of God hears about the Second Coming of Christ, and the judgments of God that are associated with it, it should not evoke a response of fear! The Bible testifies to this statement. I am convinced that Psalm 46 was written for the people living during the future Tribulation Period. Notice that Psalmist refers to a time when the world will experience a global earthquake that makes the earth desolate (verses 2, 6, 8). It is a time when God exalts Himself by defeating the wicked nations of the world gathered for war (verse 9). As the children of God in that future day see these massive and horrific judgments that destroy the world around them, they will say, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (verses 1-2).

In Isaiah 2:10-22, when God “ariseth to shake terribly the earth” (verse 19), the wicked will go into the caves of the mountains and cry out in fear for the mountains to fall upon them (compare to Revelation 6:15-17). In contrast to this response of fear, in Isaiah 24, the prophet speaks of the massive earthquakes that will devastate the earth during the Tribulation. In the midst of this description, he writes about the response of the child of God during this period of time. “They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea. Wherefore glorify the LORD in [the east], even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the [west]. From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs” (Isaiah 24:14-16).

The Bible clearly says that when God’s judgments fall upon man, the righteous will rejoice while the wicked are filled with fear. Therefore, it is odd that today, those who call themselves children of God say that the message about the Second Coming of Christ frightens them. This is not consistent with the message of the Bible.

When the child of God hears the prophetic message about the Second Coming of Christ, it should not produce fear. While speaking about the events surrounding His Second Coming, Jesus said to His disciples, “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” Matthew 24:6). When the believer hears about the judgments of God that are coming upon this earth, He is reminded that God is sovereign and He is directing the affairs of this world to His divinely decreed consummation. This should not cause us to be paralyzed with fear. It should cause us to be filled with praise. Our God is in control!

God did not give us prophecy to terrorize us, but to bless us! The one book of the Bible that is most avoided today in the church is the book of Revelation. People do not like the message of this book. Yet, this is the only book in the Bible that promises a blessing to those who read and heed its message. Revelation 1:3 says, “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” This promise is repeated once again in Revelation 22:7, “Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.”

Those who avoid the book of Revelation are missing out on the blessing of God! One of the greatest preachers in the Bible, the Apostle Paul, said only moments before his death that he “loved” the Second Coming of Christ (2 Timothy 4:8). Paul said that because He loved Jesus. The Bible declares, “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10). I believe that the people who love Jesus more than themselves will study and mediate upon the book of Revelation. Listen to what Sam Gordon, an international Bible teacher with Trans World Radio in England, said in his commentary on the book of Revelation. He said, “We study it because we passionately love the Lord and we are numbered among those who genuinely love his appearing. We approach a book like this with the adrenaline flowing through our veins, with our heart beating faster, and our mind filled with the twin components of wonder and worship. We can do no better than to come like John, and fall down in humility before the feet of Jesus” (Sam Gordon, Worthy is the Lamb, p. 21).

We are also commanded in Revelation 1:3 to “keep” or heed the words of this final book of the Bible. The late John Phillips, another world renown Bible teacher who taught for years at Moody Bible Institute and was featured on the Moody Broadcasting network, said, “The word heed literally means ‘to watch over,’ or ‘to observe attentively.’ We must keep an eye on things in light of what the book has to say” (John Phillips, Exploring Revelation- An Expository Commentary, p, 15). This is at the heart of what I am endeavoring to do in this ministry.

John MacArthur, world renown Bible expositor and conference speaker, and president of Master’s College and Seminary, says in his commentary on the book of Revelation, concerning Revelation 1:3, “Reading, hearing, and obeying the truths taught in the book of Revelation are to be a way of life for believers. Revelation is God’s final word to man, marking the completion of the canon of Scripture (22:1-19), and its scope encompasses the entire future of redemptive history (1:19). It is imperative that believers follow the truths it contains” (John MacArthur, Because the Time is Near, p. 22).

How can believers be afraid of what God says when it is to be a blessing to them?

Furthermore, the teaching of the Second Coming of Christ should bring comfort, not fear, to the life of the believer. After the Apostle Paul wrote to the church of Thessalonica about the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, he said, “Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18). Later, he exhorted this church concerning the teaching about the Tribulation Period and the time of great judgment that is coming upon the earth, with the words, “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

How can believers be afraid of what God says when it is to be a comfort to them?

Also, the Bible refers to the Second Coming of Christ as the “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13). The message of the gospel without the Second Coming is a message with no hope. Our hope is bound up in our resurrection and the completion of our salvation when we will be glorified at His coming – the Rapture of the church. To not preach about the Second Coming is to not complete the good news (gospel) of Jesus Christ. A faith that has no resurrection has no hope. It is an empty and incomplete faith. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

This is why all of the apostles constantly preached and wrote about the Second Coming. The apostle Paul spent only three weeks in Thessalonica during his missionary journey (Acts 17:1-3). While he was there he evangelized and taught the new converts. A central part of his teaching focused upon the details of the Second Coming of Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:5). One out of every three verses in Paul’s epistles speaks about the Second Coming of Christ. Clearly, the hope of the Second Coming was central to the teaching of the apostles, especially to new converts.

How can believers be afraid of what God says when it is to be a blessed hope to them?

God has not given us the prophetic Word to frighten us, but to inform us of His will and future eternal plans. Most of us are afraid of what we do not know. Ignorance many times leads to fear.

God wants us to know what He has in store for us. When Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica about their gathering together in Christ, he wrote, “But I would not have you to be ignorant brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Paul openly stated, as directed by the Holy Spirit, that God does not want believers to be uninformed about His prophetic plans.

I am amazed and constantly in awe and wonder at the incredible details of God’s eternal plans given to us in the Bible! The prophecies that surround the Second Coming of Christ are not vague or general. They are filled with minute details. God invites and expects us to know the details of His prophetic Word and to study the conditions in our world to know that the time of His coming is near (Luke 21:28). The signs of His coming are for seeing. Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of His day because they failed to “discern the signs of the times” (Matthew 16:3). I wonder what He would say to the pastors who refuse to know and teach His prophetic Word to their congregations?

God wants us to join Him in what He is doing. This is the practical part of making Him the Lord of your life. Prophecy is God’s agenda. It is what He is going to do in our world. How can anyone who is serious about following Jesus not consider the prophetic Word of God to be important? This does not make good Biblical sense!

Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Do we know what this means? To pray for His will to be done on earth means that we consider what His Word says about His will – His eternal plans spelled out in the prophetic Scriptures. He wants us to identify His will and to pray for it to be accomplished on earth as determined by His revealed prophetic truth. For example, we should pray for the peace of Jerusalem because we know what His will is for this city. Psalm 122:6 and Isaiah 62:1-7 are divinely connected together in the will of God. We are instructed to pray for what God wants (John 15:7).

We should be praying for the rapture of the church. Revelation 21:17 and John 14:3 are divinely connected together. We should pray for His coming because this is what He wants. He wants us to be with Him.

How can believers be afraid of God’s prophetic instructions that are to guide our desires and prayers?

God has not given us His prophetic Word to scare us, but to prepare us. After Jesus spoke of the conditions that will precede His coming, He said, “Therefore, be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:44). He does not want us to just know that He is coming, but that we are prepared for His coming. To drive this truth home, Jesus gave the parable of the 10 virgins to His disciples (Matthew 25:1-13). This parable illustrates the truth that the wedding party of the bride knew that at an unannounced time the bridegroom would come to take his bride away. The bridesmaids were to be ready to take that trip to the house of the groom’s father to attend the wedding. In the parable, five were ready and five were not. The five who were not prepared were left behind. They said they believed the groom was coming. However, their procrastination proved otherwise.

The implications of this parable point to the church. As the bride of Christ, we are to be spiritually ready for Him when He comes for His church during the Rapture. Obviously, the church that is not focused upon the Second Coming of Jesus is represented in this parable by the foolish virgins who were not prepared. They were too preoccupied with themselves and not looking and longing for the bridegroom.

How can believers be afraid of looking for the coming of their bridegroom?

Friends, there are no Biblical reasons why true believers should be afraid of the doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ. When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, emotions, thoughts, dreams, and ambitions, we will long to be with Jesus. When that happens, the Spirit and the bride will say to Jesus “Come” (Revelation 22:17). If you cannot meaningfully pray, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20), something is not right in your life. It may be that Jesus is not your Lord or groom. Or, it could mean that the Holy Spirit does not live in you or you have not given Him control of the throne of your soul. When you are in love with your groom, you are not afraid to be joined to Him on your wedding day!

The World’s Islamic Invasion

Islam has declared that it will conquer the world. A major part of the Islamic strategy is to flood the world with Muslim immigrants. Here in the U.S., we should keep a keen eye on what is happening in many European countries. The traditional culture of Europe is rapidly declining due to the flood of Muslim immigrants fleeing the war-torn areas of the Middle East and Northern Africa. Italy stands at the front of this demographic crisis. Many voices are warning Italy’s political leadership that if they do not curb these legal immigration patterns, it will be cultural suicide. Native Italians are leaving their country because of fear. In some southern cities, Muslims comprise one-third of the population.

A recent article by Gatestone Institute commented, “According to projections from the UN Population Division, the population of sub-Saharan Africa will double in 30 years, adding an additional 1 billion people and accounting for more than half the global population growth between now and 2050. Italy, which already has the third-largest population of migrants in Europe, is undergoing an “unbearable” crisis, and now faces the real risk of an “Africanisation”, as Stephen Smith called it in his book, The Scramble for Europe” (Website article on Gatestone Institute, October 28, 2019).

As Western nations struggle with their immigration policies, it should be noted that this current flood of immigrants is stretching the economic capacities of these nations. They have reached the point of economic collapse. This is changing the moral fabric of our global culture, and bringing spiritual, social, political, and financial consequences. This sounds very much like the description of the world that will exist at the end of this age. Daniel 2:43 says, “They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another.”

Our country needs to listen to the Trump administration concerning the construction of a wall at the Mexican border, and the revision of U.S. immigration policies. To refuse this is to commit national suicide!

September 2019 – Global Warming

September 2019

The Truth About Global Warming

Download the .pdf

By Mike Wingfield

We are coming to the end of one of the hottest summers I can remember. In fact, statistical data indicate this has been one of the hottest summers in 2,000 years. From Europe to the Arctic, new temperature records were set. According to the Times of Israel, three independent studies “showed that Earth’s temperature was warming at a rate and uniformity unparalleled in the past 2,000 years.” Obviously, this is creating a torrent of debate in political and scientific arenas about global warming. What are we to believe? What are we to do?

Is global warming a politicized hoax, or is it a reality that must be reckoned with? This is a very critical question that deserves an honest answer. The Bible gives us the answer. But does anyone care to listen to the warning from the Lord about global warming in the last days?

We live in a world filled with lies and deception. We must be careful to evaluate what we hear and believe. Real wisdom and truth comes from the Lord. In this newsletter, I want to guide us through the maze of questions, concerns, and misinformation that we are being fed about global warming. You might be saying, “Who cares about all of this? Let the scientists and politicians battle it out.” Be careful! This is a subject worth our consideration because the prophets of Israel recorded the truth about global warming as a warning from God. Our understanding of radical climate change is not just a critical fact we need to accept. These Biblical insights also have practical ramifications that we need to grasp in these last of the last days.

In recent years, I have been angered and bewildered at the discussions surrounding this subject. On one side of the issue we have world leaders and godless scientists promoting the idea that global warming trends of our day are the results of the greenhouse effect created by the burning of fossil fuels and methane gas that comes from burping and pooping cows. In essence, they claim that the emissions from our cars and cows are destroying the protective ozone in the upper atmosphere that shields us from dangerous rays and heat from the sun. In reality, they are exaggerating their findings to scare the public into surrendering their freedoms to political leaders who want to manipulate our lives and usher us into a godless man-made utopia, called socialism. History and the Bible demonstrate that this effort will end in death and disaster for billions of people in the last days.

On the other side of this issue we have well-meaning Christian leaders who are openly ignoring the reality of global warming. They claim it is a hoax. They argue that the earth has previously experienced times of climate change and that we are just passing through a solar cycle that will ultimately pass. While there might be some merit to their side of the debate, these same influential Christian leaders ignore what the prophetic Scriptures say about global warming and its connection to the wrathful judgment of God during the last days. With our Bibles in hand, let us examine the truth about global warming.

According to the context of many of the Bible’s prophetic passages, the global population living at the end of this age will face the wrathful judgment of God as a consequence of man’s wickedness and rebellion. During the first global judgment during the days of Noah, the Creator unleashed His creation against the inhabitants of earth. God told Noah, “The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (Genesis 6:13). In a matter of a few weeks, God emptied the water canopy above the earth and struck the earth with global earthquakes that released billions of tons of subterranean water with horrific and unparalleled force upon the face of the earth. Read Genesis 7:11. The face of the earth, along with all of the fossil records, bears testimony to this Biblical account. See the photo on this page.

The Bible warns us that during the final years of this age, called the Tribulation, God will once again unleash His creation against the global population. Isaiah 13:9 states, “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” This cataclysmic and horrifying period of time will include a multitude of natural disasters on a scale of which the earth has never experienced. These disasters will include earthquakes, volcanoes, and an assortment of disasters that will dramatically affect the climate and bring global warming.

The Bible clearly states that the Lord will judge those who are destroying the earth in the last days (Revelation 11:18). It is strange that many of the godless inhabitants of earth speak of it as a goddess. They commonly refer it as “Mother Earth.” This is nothing more than pagan idol worship. During President Barack Obama’s presidency “the top climate scientist for the U.N. at that time, Rajendra Pachauri, admitted: ‘The protection of planet Earth, the survival of all species and sustainability of our ecosystems is more than a mission. It is my religion and my dharma.’” (News blog from WorldNet Daily, January, 17, 2017)

Man continually speaks of saving earth, while destroying it at the same time with increasing amounts of pollution. For example, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam dump 19 billion pounds of disposable plastic and other trash into the ocean every year! Some of this debris will remain in the oceans for decades to come. This threatens the delicate eco-system of the oceans. See the picture below. According to Revelation 11:18, this will be a part of God’s retribution.

God told the first couple, Adam and Eve, that they were responsible for the maintenance of their earthly environment (Genesis 2:15). The Bible teaches us that everything we enjoy belongs to God and it is our responsibility as human beings to manage God’s property. Psalm 24:1 declares, “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” The earth belongs to the Lord. We are his tenants. We will answer to Him for how we have managed His property.

When the end of this age comes, the Lord will orchestrate His creation to humble humanity by using deadly elements of global warming to bring about suffering on a scale that man has never seen. Malachi 4:1 warns us, “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.” In a context that speaks of the horrific natural disasters of the last days, Isaiah 24:6 states, “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.” Earlier in his prophetic book, Isaiah wrote about the intense heat of the Tribulation when he said, “… they shall be amazed at one another; their faces shall be as flames” (Isaiah 13:8).

The global warming of the Tribulation Period will intensify throughout the entire 7-year time of God’s wrathful judgment. During the last cycles of judgments, the Apostle John wrote, “And the fourth angel poured out his vial 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). When Christ returns at the end of the Tribulation, Isaiah revealed, “the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days” (Isaiah 30:26). Obviously, the intense light of the sun will be accompanied by tremendous heat. The world will suffer from the powerful heat of our Lord’s consuming fire. Psalm 97:3-5 declares, “A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.”

Global warming during the Tribulation will have a major impact upon the climate of planet earth. The polar caps will melt and cause ocean levels to rise around the world. In the very first book of God’s revelation, Job, we are told that God has reserved the treasures of ice [the polar caps] “against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war” (Job 38:22-23). This mention of the time of trouble and war, in the light of the prophetic context of the Scriptures, is a reference to the time of the Tribulation. According to Amos 9:5-6, there will come a time when the Lord will touch the earth and there will be a melting that will cause the oceans to “rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.” Many prophetic scholars correctly connect this prophecy with Job 38:22-23. In essence, these two passages indicate that the global warming of the last days will cause the polar caps to melt, resulting in the flooding of the coastal areas around the world.

This is a frightening prophecy. Antarctica alone contains 70 percent of all of the fresh water on earth. Consequently, should both polar caps melt it would cause the oceans to raise approximately 216 feet. About 44 percent of the global population lives in these coastal areas. These people would be forced to move inland. Three-fourths of the mega cities in the world would be underwater. The following U.S. cities would be under water: Boston, New York, Washington D.C., Miami, New Orleans, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. [Someone needs to tell President Trump that he will not need to drain the swamp in D.C. because God is going to flood it!] Almost all of Florida will be under water.

Rising sea water will not be the world’s greatest problem. The rising temperatures will not only be uncomfortable, but it will bring death and famine. Once again, Malachi’s prophecy says that living on earth will be like being in an oven (Malachi 4:1).

Therefore, in light of the prophetic Scriptures, no one can deny that global warming is a reality. Many of the facts we are being given may be exaggerated or altered, but the reality of some level of global warming must be accepted.

The real debate lies in the causes for global warming. As previously mentioned, the global politicians and the godless scientists are proponents of climate change due to man-made causes. God does hold man accountable for destroying the earth, as pointed out in Revelation 11:18. However, the events of the end-times should be viewed as judgments of God that directly originate from His throne in heaven. Notice in Revelation 16:8 that the Lord gave one of His angels the ability “to scorch men with fire.”

After many years of study and prayerful contemplation, I have concluded that there are at least three major instruments of God’s creation that are ushering in global warming as a natural disaster of the end-times. Let us examine them.

I believe that one of the chief causes for global warming is fluctuations in the amount of heat released by the sun. Many proponents of global warming believe that sun spots, solar flares, and solar storms are the chief causes for the increase in heat released by the sun. While there is probably some truth to these theories, we must remember that the Lord created the sun and He controls its activity. Notice that the global heat mentioned in Revelation 16:8-9 is caused by God’s control of the sun. God, not man, has His hand upon earth’s thermostat.

Another known cause for global warming is volcanic eruptions. When a volcano erupts, it injects millions of tons of dangerous gases into the atmosphere. These gases destroy the protective ozone layer around the earth. As the ozone weakens, more radiation from the sun to enters earth’s atmosphere.

Moreover, most volcanoes also release millions of tons of volcanic ash into the atmosphere. This ash can collect, forming clouds that float around the earth for several years. These clouds, just like water clouds, shield the earth from the heat of the sun. Ironically, these ash clouds created by large volcanic eruptions can have a cooling impact upon the global climate.

During the Tribulation Period there will be a record-breaking number of global earthquakes that will trigger a massive number of volcanic eruptions. Early in the Tribulation, a massive global earthquake will be so great that it will move “every mountain and island … out of their places” (Revelation 6:14). Volcanoes triggered by this earthquake will create conditions so that “the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood” (Revelation 6:12). Obviously, these conditions will be created by massive amounts of volcanic ash in earth’s upper atmosphere.

Shortly thereafter, one-third of the earth’s surface will be shielded from the sun by these ash clouds (Revelation 8:12). These conditions will intensify and ultimately culminate in global darkness at the end of the Tribulation (Revelation 16:10). The end of the Tribulation will be known as “the cloudy and dark day” (Ezekiel 34:12). Describing this time, Jesus said, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light” (Matthew 24:29).

In an amazing passage that is very puzzling to many Bible commentators, the prophet Isaiah spoke of “the heat with the shadow of a cloud” (Isaiah 25:5). In Chapter 24 he spoke of the horrific impact of global earthquakes. In 24:6 he stated that “the inhabitants of earth are burned, and few men left.” So, Isaiah 25:1-8, goes on to describe a time of global judgment involving intense heat that will be like a cloud enveloping the earth. However, the nation of Israel will be excluded. The world will be suffering under conditions of wilting heat, drought, and famine, but Israel will be sheltered and it will enjoy a bountiful harvest of food (verse 6). In light of the prophetic Scriptures, the cloud or covering in this text will be the volcanic ash clouds previously mentioned in this article.

It is true that under current conditions massive ash clouds around the earth would create winter-like conditions, significantly lowering global temperatures. This seems to be a contradiction to the warnings of intense heat with the presence of these clouds that will produce heat during the last days. However, we must remember that the Tribulation Period will be unique in many ways. Mankind has never experienced the conditions that will prevail during this time of divine judgment. Therefore, while we cannot pretend to know how God will do this, we must believe what He has said.

I can think of one possible explanation for this apparent contradiction. Before the flood, a translucent water canopy surrounded the earth (Genesis 1:6-7). This canopy existed until the time of the global flood in Genesis 7, when God emptied it in 40 days. Before the global flood it had never rained. Conditions in the pre-flood world were different from our current conditions. It should be noted that man’s lifespan before the flood averaged 926 years. After the flood, the global death rate eventually decline to our present rate – 70-80 years. Therefore, many Bible scholars have concluded that the atmospheric conditions before the flood accounted for the longer lifespan of man. Atmospheric conditions may have also included more oxygen in the atmosphere and a greater barometric pressure that helped hold the water canopy in place. Medical research indicates that an increased pressure with slight increases in oxygen levels over a long period of time would have a radically favorable impact upon the life and health of mankind.

During the time of the millennial kingdom, the lifespan of man will once again return to the pre-flood records. Isaiah 65:20 says, “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.” A few verses later, Isaiah declared, “for as the days of a tree are the days of my people” (Isaiah 65:22). This would lead one to believe that atmospheric conditions of earth will be restored to similar conditions as in the early chapters of the Bible. It is my observation that two conditions that will take place during the Tribulation might possibly indicate that the water canopy will be divinely restored during this period of time. First, as noted in this article, the world will be suffering from global warming. This would obviously indicate that water evaporation rates would increase during this period of time. At the same time, the Scriptures indicate that there will be no rain on the earth during the ministry of the two Jewish witnesses for the 1,260 days of the first half of the Tribulation Period. With no rain coming down and an increased evaporation rate of water into the atmosphere, it seems to indicate that this could be the method whereby the Lord would recreate the water canopy over the earth. This activity would be a time of great judgment upon the inhabitants of earth for the 7-year Tribulation. However, it would prepare the earth and the inhabitants who live during the kingdom for a time of divine blessings for 1,000 years. Unlike the original water canopy which allowed no rain, the canopy of the millennial kingdom will be different, allowing for just the right amount of rainfall upon the earth. In Ezekiel 34:26 God promised Israel during the kingdom age, “I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.”

Another consideration with regard to global warming is the magnetic field of earth. There are many sources that indicate that the magnetic field of the earth is presently undergoing a major shift. See the graph below. According to Breaking News Israel, scientists have noted that the magnetic point known as the North Pole is traveling toward the south. Thirty years ago, this was taking place at a rate of 9.3 miles per year. However, now it is moving at the rate of 34 miles per year.

The reduction of the earth’s magnetic field also has a more dangerous result. Most scientists concur that this magnetic field protects earth from most of the sun’s harmful radiation and particles. Therefore, as the magnetic field continues to deteriorate, it could cause certain areas of the earth’s surface to become unbearably hot.

If this trend continues, it could cause a complete reversal of earth’s magnetic field. The North Pole would become the South Pole and vice versa. A study of earth’s rocks indicates that this happened thousands of years ago. It is possible that this is what happened to bring about the sudden conditions that prevailed upon the earth at the time of the global flood in Noah’s day.

This also sounds like what will happen during the Tribulation. While referring to the geological upheaval of the Tribulation, Isaiah 24:1 says, “Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.”

When this shift takes place suddenly, as in the days of Noah, it will bring about sudden catastrophic conditions on the earth. I remind all of us that the apostle Paul said, “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

In an amazing article by Adam Berkowitz, from Breaking Israel News, “A team of scientists personally sponsored by Bill Gates, plan on countering the effects of ‘global warming’ by injecting millions of tons of dust into the atmosphere to block the sun’s rays.” There are many concerns that this effort could end with catastrophic results.

Our world is pregnant with the signs of the end-times. Global warming is one of these signs. But is anyone listening?

If we believe God’s warning we should be spiritually ready to meet Him at any moment. Until then, we need to occupy until He comes. That means we need to win and warn the lost. It also means, like Joseph, we need to physically prepare. In times of prosperity and plenty we need to prepare for the global drought that will come. The heat and resulting drought are already beginning. How long will it be before the Lord comes for us? We do not know. Real wisdom comes from the Lord. Cry out to Him now to meditate upon what He would have you to do.

Mike Releases New Book

Mike has just released his newest book, Your Judgment Day. In this book he helps you examine the most important day in your life – the day you stand before Judge Jesus. He answers the questions of when, why, and how you will be judged. Mike says, “I wrote this book to help both the saved and unsaved to know how to prepare for their judgment day. I believe most people move through their lives without giving this much thought. Don’t let that happen to you.” This 66-page paperback book is available for $5. By contacting Joycew5656@aol.com.

April 19 – Israel 8th Most Powerful Nation

PTNews

April 2019

Published 10 times annually

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 8^th Most Powerful Nation

By Mike Wingfield

For the third year in a row, Israel has been ranked as the eighth most powerful country in the world, according to a U.S. News and World report. (www.usnews.com) The report says, “the world’s most powerful countries also are the ones that consistently dominate news headlines, preoccupy policymakers, and shape global economic patterns. Their foreign policies and military budgets are tracked religiously. When they make a pledge, at least some in the international community trust they will keep it.”

The top two countries are the U.S. and China, followed by Russia, Germany, the U.K., France, Japan, and Israel. Israel ranked ahead of all of its Muslim neighbors in the Middle East – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, and Egypt.

This report shows the results of a survey of 21,000 people from four regions, based upon each country’s leadership, economic influence, political power, strong international alliances, and military capabilities.

This report is amazing when one considers that Israel is a relatively young country – only 70 years old. Furthermore, it is incredible that Israel has been able to earn this kind of stature among the nations given its size and small population.

However, to the students of biblical prophecy this comes as no surprise. The amazing ascendancy of the nation of Israel on the world stage is a fulfillment of many biblical texts. The Lord promised the Jewish people that He would gather them from the nations of the world back to their ancient homeland and bless them in that land. This has been occurring since the beginning of the twentieth century. The world does not recognize it, but they are witnessing the powerful work of the hand of God. He promised them, “And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings; and ye shall know that I am the LORD” (Ezekiel 36:11). .pdf download Continue reading “April 19 – Israel 8th Most Powerful Nation”