Author: Mike Wingfield

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Israel needs our prayers

Israel is still in shock. They are still wondering how they were caught off guard to experience the most devastating day in the history of the modern state of Israel. More Israelis were murdered on Saturday, October 7th than any day during the historic wars Israel has suffered during its return to the Promised Land. This sudden defeat did not come at the hands of an enemy nation but was perpetrated by an Islamic terrorist entity.

On the last day of the Jewish peoples’ celebrated Feast of Tabernacles, Hamas, a radical and dangerous Islamic terrorist enemy, struck twenty-two Jewish communities and several military camps near the southern border with Gaza. It is estimated that about 1,000 terrorists entered Israel by land, air, and sea. In 24-hours, they killed more than 800 Israeli citizens and military personnel. The grim pictures shared by Israel give testimony to the demonic and brutal savagery of the invading forces. They raped and tortured women, killed parents in front of their children, and slaughtered people while desecrating their bodies. Many were beheaded. It is believed that they captured 100 or more men, women, children, and elderly people and forced them to flee to Gaza where they are being held hostage. They raided and pillaged the Jewish communities, leaving behind a massive destruction.

They launched more than 5,000 missiles into Israel. A few of these missiles reached the intended targets in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It is believed by some that some type of electronic device was used to interfere with Israel’s Iron Dome antiballistic system. Some analysts are saying that Iran and Russia helped Hamas to plan this deadly attack and provided the funds, munitions, orders, and technological ability to make it happen.

The Israeli government has declared war on Hamas. Tens of thousands of reservists have been summoned for duty. They have warned the people that the war against Hamas in the streets of the densely populated streets of Gaza will be a long-protracted war. There will be many Israeli casualties in this effort.

Most of us who live in the United States cannot begin to fathom what the Israelis are going through. We have not suffered from wars and rumors of wars as the Jewish people have had to endure for many generations. I was moved by the following report. “What we are experiencing now is unthinkable, unimaginable. The horror, the evil, the pain. It is more than we can bear. Parents and children are slaughtered. Elderly people and their nurses are slaughtered. Teenagers at an outdoor party, slaughtered. For those who are far away, who may not grasp the enormity of this horror – this is Israel’s 9/11.

Throughout Israel, sons and fathers are running to war. The situation is so dire that men in their forties are being called up to action. Yesterday, I stood on my porch watching mothers and wives all over my neighborhood hug their sons and husbands with tears in their eyes, as they rushed from their homes to join their units for battle.

Everyone has a loved one at the front. Some of my friends’ children have been wounded, and others are missing. We are living in a nightmare. Israel is in crisis, in a way many of us have never experienced in our lifetimes” (Israel365news.com, October 8, 2023).

Israelis fear that a war with Hezbollah will break out on the northern border at any moment. This war will dwarf the attack by Hamas. The Iranian-back terrorists in Lebanon have more than 150,000 missiles. All of Israel will be under attack in a matter of a few hours. This is a very serious moment in the history of Israel and in the developments of God’s purposes for the end-times.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Lord has a major purpose behind these events in Israel. He has declared to Israel, “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10). He is using these times to prepare the Jewish people for a time of outpouring of His Spirit, bringing them to salvation. At the beginning of the Tribulation Period 144,000 young Jewish men will be saved (Revelation 7:1-8). During the midst of the battle of Armageddon, the entire living nation will call out to Him for salvation (Zechariah 11:10-13:9).

Pray for Israel and her leaders to make wise decisions. Pray for many who have lost family and friends. Many funerals will be held in the next few hours and days and the people of Israel will be crying out to the Lord for His help. Pray for the Israeli soldiers as this war continues to escalate. Pray that the enemies of Israel will be defeated for the honor and glory of God. Pray that this will unite the nation of Israel. Pray that the church will wake up and understand the lateness of the hour!

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Marching To Armageddon

The Lord has promised that when the last days come, He will cause His people to return to the land that He promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He said, “For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries and will bring you into your own land” (Ezekiel 36:24). A multitude of passages declare that the Lord will settle His people upon “the mountains of Israel” (Ezekiel 36:1, 4, 6, 8). An examination of the map of ancient Israel will demonstrate that this is a reference to the mountains of Samaria and Judea. These mountains are currently a part of what the world refers to as “the West Bank.” This area is the very heartland of the land that God promised to His people 4,000 years ago. This area was the location of the majority of biblical accounts recorded in the Bible.

The Bible informs us that at the end of this age, during the final weeks of the Tribulation Period, the armies of all the nations (Zechariah 14:2) will converge on Israel, attempting to force the Israelis to surrender their land and the city of Jerusalem. According to Ezekiel 36:1-7, the nations that surround Israel will resist the Jewish effort to resettle their ancient homeland in the last days. In this conflict, God will defend His people against this aggression and defiance that is opposing His eternal land covenant with Israel (Genesis 13:15). He has warned the Arab/Islamic nations that “they shall bear their shame” (Ezekiel 36:7). This simply means they will suffer a continual humiliating defeat that will bring disgrace upon them.

According to the Bible, the regional war against Israel over her land will ultimately involve all nations. God has declared that the reason for Armageddon is because the nations “have scattered [His people] among the nations, and parted my land” (Joel 3:2). This war over the land of Israel is about to become very intense.

The world continues to reject the biblical truth and push for Israel to allow the creation of a Palestinian State upon the heart of the Promised Land. It seems no nation really wants to protect and defend the Jewish nation. Instead, they are supporting the creation of another Arab Islamic terrorist state, rather than defending the democratic nation of Israel. More importantly, they are choosing to rebel against the eternal work of God, while ignoring His promises to Israel and their right to their land.

I am convinced here are six factors that are about to cause this conflict to escalate and create the march of the nations toward Armageddon. (1) For five decades Israel has cooperated with the global demand for a two-state solution to resolve the conflict over the land. However, most Israelis realize that this is now impossible. The new biblically conservative Israeli government, which includes the religious parties, are now pushing for more new Israeli towns and villages to occupy the disputed territory of the West Bank. These plans are enraging the nations. The world views this as a roadblock that prevents the creation of a viable Palestinian State on the West Bank. (2) Those who have been following the efforts of creating a two-state solution over the last five decades are realizing that the Palestinian leadership has never been serious about establishing a Palestinian State along side a Jewish State – Israel. There is much proof that demonstrates the real goal of the Arab nations and the Palestinian leadership has been the refusal to recognize the continued occupation of the Jewish nation in the Middle East. The Palestinians do not want to only occupy the West Bank, but all the land “from the River to the Sea.” The proof of this is the incitement of hatred against the Jews in the Palestinian mosques, schools, media, and the entire Palestinian culture. Terrorists who kill Israelis are rewarded and glorified in the Palestinian territories. (3) Recent polls throughout the Palestinian territories demonstrate that most Palestinians would rather conduct terrorist attacks against Israel, rather than to promote peace. (4) The armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinians on the West Bank is now escalating rapidly. It is reported that more than 400,000 Palestinians have rifles that have been smuggled into the country by Iran. In recent days, a few Palestinian terrorist groups have launched rockets into Israel from the West Bank. Israel has answered with great military force in several of the towns that are controlled by radical terrorist groups. (5) Global anti-Semitism is escalating and reaching very dangerous levels in the West, especially in Europe. As a result, more Jewish people are immigrating to Israel. Since about one-half of Israel’s territory is desert, the new immigrants need more room to settle. The answer is to allow them to occupy biblical Judea and Samarian (the West Bank). (6) In recent days, President Joe Biden commented that the current Israeli administration is the “most extreme ever.” He made these comments because Israel is ignoring the U.S. warnings about building on the “West Bank.” Israel’s answer was, “We will not compromise on the land of Israel. … It is ours. … The Land of Israel is for the People of Israel, according to the Torah [Law] of Israel. … The United States wants two states for two peoples and we think it’s suicide” (World Israel News, July 10, 2023).

I have been following this conflict for five decades and it is very clear to me that we are about to enter the final phase of the war for the Promised Land. Considering all of the other global developments, we are getting very close to “the shout that will take us out.”

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Russia Attacks Israel

Israeli plane returning home in Israel after a mission in Syria. (Image courtesy Israel Today)

Israeli plane returning home in Israel after a mission in Syria.

Image courtesy Israel Today

For years, Israel has repeatedly attacked Iranian military positions in Syria. The Jewish state has made it known to Russia and everyone else in the region and the world, that Israel cannot and will not tolerate an Iranian military build up in Syria. Israel considers this to be an existential threat. Russian and Israel leadership have openly discussed this on several occasions. In the past, Russia has verbally agreed that Israel has the right to defend itself. Therefore, Russia’s policy has been to not interfere with Israel’s aircraft when they destroy Iranian military positions in Syria. This has now changed.

Israel is now reporting that sometime last week, Russian forces opened fire on Israeli aircraft in Syria while they were targeting Iranian military positions in Syria. Russia joined Syrian forces in an attack to shoot down Israeli military jets while they were carrying out their mission in Syria. This was the first of such an incident in which Russia has shown any aggression against Israel in recent years.

As a result of this attack, Israel Today gave the following report on May 17, 2022. “The situation in Ukraine has opened a widening rift between Israel and Russia that many fear could ultimately result in armed confrontation.

“If an Israel Channel 13 News report is to be believed, the first shots in the Israel-Russia conflict have already been fired.

Last week, Israel Air Force (IAF) jets allegedly attacked targets in northern Syria. That’s not out of the ordinary.

But this time, according to unnamed sources cited by Channel 13, Russian military units stationed in Syria opened fire on the Israeli aircraft.

“Syrian military air defenses have been almost entirely ineffective in preventing Israeli airstrikes on targets in the country.

But there are a number of advanced Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft batteries deployed throughout Syria that until now have not been activated against the Israelis.

“Those batteries are operated by Russian military personnel and are under Russian military command. And one of them reportedly joined Syrian air defenses in attacking Israeli planes last week.

“If true, experts said this marks a significant and dangerous policy shift on the part of Moscow” (Israel Today, May 17, 2022)

Could this be the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Russia that will lead to the Gog and Magog war mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39? Only time will tell!

Get ready for the shout that will take us out.

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Two Articles from Israel

Putin blasts Israel’s ‘disrespect of status-quo’ in call with Abbas

 April 19, 2022- World Israel News

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Sochi, Russia,, November 2021. (YouTube/TRT World/Screen grab)

Putin phones Palestinian leader to express disapproval of Israel’s actions on Temple Mount as fallout from Lapid’s statement about Russian “war crimes” grows.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

On the heels of a strongly worded letter to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett demanding that Israel transfer ownership of a church compound in Jerusalem to Russia, President Vladimir Putin phoned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to slam the Israeli security forces’ recent actions on the Temple Mount.

According to a report from Russian state-owned news agency RIA, Putin discussed a number of subjects with Abbas.

As global food prices soar due to inflation, with the supply chain crisis sparked by the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine, Putin reportedly told Abbas that Palestinians will enjoy unfettered access to “Russian wheat, materials, and crops.”

PA-owned state news agency Wafa said that “Putin stressed Russia’s firm position in support of the rights of the Palestinian people, and that Russia will continue to …support…the Palestinian cause in all international forums.”

Wafa reported that Putin expressed his disapproval of Israel’s large-scale arrests of violent rioters on the Temple Mount, saying that he did not agree with “the Israeli practices that prevent worshippers from freely accessing the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Putin also was said to have criticized Israel for not “respecting the existing historical status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem.”

Moscow has long maintained warm ties with the PA. Dozens of Palestinians in Bethlehem staged a modest pro-Putin rally in Bethlehem’s central square at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

After Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid slammed Putin for committing “war crimes” in Ukraine, in a major departure from Israeli government policy of remaining neutral during the conflict, Russia fired back with a harsh statement.

“The Israeli Foreign Minister’s statements evoke regret and rejection,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

“There was a poorly camouflaged attempt to take advantage of the situation in Ukraine to distract the international community’s attention from one of the oldest unsettled conflicts — the Palestine-Israeli one,” the ministry claimed.

Russia warns Israel: Hand over Jerusalem compound immediately

 April 18, 2022- World Israel News

People walk outside the Alexander Nevsky Church in Jerusalem Old City on January 20, 2020. (Flash90/Olivier Fitoussi)

After conflicting decisions by Israeli prime ministers, Putin demands ownership of church compound in Jerusalem be officially transferred to Russia.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett must immediately follow through on a promise given to Russia by his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, and transfer ownership of a Jerusalem church to Moscow, wrote Vladimir Putin in a strongly worded letter to Israel’s premier on Sunday.

The timing of the demand is significant, as it came shortly after Foreign Minister Yair Lapid harshly criticized the Russian invasion of Ukraine, accusing Moscow of war crimes.

Israel also recently voted to remove Russia from the UN’s Human Rights Council, a move which sparked Russian officials to summon the Israeli ambassador in Moscow for a dressing down

The Alexander Nevsky Church, also known as the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, is a prominent holy site for the Russian Orthodox Church, located in the Christian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem.

During the Ottoman Empire era, the site was registered as belonging to the “Russian kingdom.” In 2017, Russia requested that Israel officially transfer ownership of the church and its compound to Moscow.

Initially, the Israeli government held that such a change in ownership would need to be investigated and decided upon by the Supreme Court.

But after Israeli-American Na’ama Issachar was imprisoned for traveling through a Russian airport with a small amount of cannabis in her possession in 2020, then-premier Netanyahu agreed to formally return the site back to Moscow.

Israeli land registry records were changed to state that the compound belonged to Russia later that year.

However, after taking office, Bennett reportedly ordered that the decision be reversed and the matter once again be determined by the Supreme Court.

Up until recently, it had appeared that a Russia was willing to wait until the case played out in an Israeli court, but Lapid’s comments make have ended Moscow’s patience.

“Now we are fighting for the return of the Compound, and it is very difficult: we were almost there, we worked for five years, we found all the historical documents, but the situation with Ukraine occurred, and Israel behaved as it often does – playing with both sides, playing ping pong with everyone,” Sergei Stepashin, who is currently visiting Israel and manages Russia’s properties in the Middle East, told media.

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Praying to “the Great Queer One”

The Bible predicted that when the end comes, the professing church would depart from biblical doctrines and replace them with the doctrine of demons (1 Timothy 4:1).  We are literally seeing this take place at this moment.  According to a report from World Net Daily, Duke Chapel at Duke Divinity School has committed the ultimate blasphemy.

Writing for World Net Daily, Bob Unruh writes, “A report from Hope Rawlson at the blog for the Institute on Religion & Democracy has documented that students at Duke Divinity School, which is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, have held a “Pride” worship service to pray to the “Great Queer One.”

She revealed, “Divinity Pride, a student group affirming the ‘dignity, faithfulness, and strength of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, and gender/sexuality non-conforming Christians,'” held the event.

The posting explained, “Criticizing the church, Justis Mitchell, a first-year M.Div student, stated, ‘In the pews we listen to the pastor who preaches about commandments, condemning those who disobey, predicating a future of fire and turmoil.’ However, Mitchell believes that ‘We can become holy, we can become worthy, we can become valued…even as we remain queer, even as we discover our own queer God whose presence is within these walls.'”

This is compelling evidence that a portion of the American population has reached the spiritual point of no return.  When a culture travels down the path of suppressing the truth of Scripture and replaces them with unholy, wicked, and immoral practices, they have become “fools” (Romans 1:22).  They have “become vain [worthless] in their imaginations, and their foolish heart [conscience] [has been] darkened” (Romans 1:21).    

Concerning these people in this wicked culture, the Bible says, “And [they]changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 1:23-25). 

The following context of Romans 1 makes it emphatically clear that the spiritual point of no return is reached when a culture openly and unapologetically embraces and support homosexuality and lesbianism.  The character of the people living in this kind of culture is exposed in Romans 1:29-32.  Reading this character list is like listening to the daily news reports in America and around the world.

Some would call what I have said “hate speech.”  However, I view this as a warning from a holy God.  I care enough about the people living around me to warn them of the consequence of their sin.  If I fail to do this, then I really do not love them.  The message I share is from a heart of love because I do not want anyone to die in their sin and go to a place of eternal damnation.  Unless these people repent and accept the holy Son of God and His holy standards, they will perish in their sins.

The true church must be bold, compassionate, and caring enough to proclaim the truth!  Jesus warned His disciples to not seek the friendship of the world because it will temp us to remain silent and to not warn them of the consequences of their sin.  Read what Jesus had to say in John 15:18-25. 

Observation:  Perhaps the mascot of Duke University is more fitting than we realize.