Today, The Bible & You

Today’s Front Page

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March 2020

Discovering The Amazing Power of JESUS

 The Christian life is supposed to be a life lived by faith.  Yet, most Christians never realize the life of the Spirit our Creator designed for us to live by.  In one of the most common prayers in all of Christendom — the Lord’s Prayer — finishes with an overwhelming statement.  The last verse of the Lord’s Prayer is found in Matthew 6:13, “. . . . And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:  For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen.”

 Most have never discovered this POWER our Lord Jesus left for us to live by.  Like Adam and Eve, Christendom continues to think that they can put God off, and never lose anything — only to discover they lost it all.  As God tells us in Matthew 10:39, “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it.“

 Our Lord Jesus wants us to know that he has provided us with his attributes to live by.  The Three Big O’s: His Omnipotence — Omnipresence — Omniscience. God wants you to know that he is All-Powerful, Everywhere Present and Knows Everything, including all of the future.  He is totally aware of every detail of your life.

Our Most Powerful Weapon

 One of the most powerful tools God has left for us is the power of PRAYER.  Frequent are the times when we all find ourselves at our wits end and need to pray.

 Then there are other times when WE COULD USE A PRAYER PARTNER. Do You Have a Prayer Partner?  If not, ask God to bring one to you.  Matthew 18:19-20, “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” 

 The Gospel of Matthew, chapters 8 thru 12 are critical to the understanding of the life of Christ.  Matthew records a series of miracles preformed by Jesus Christ.  God records this in order for us to know the power he has available for us.

 The Gospel of Matthew presents Jesus to us as King.  The Gospel of Mark presents him to us as Servant, the Gospel of Luke as the Son of Man and the Gospel of John as the Son of God.

 Matthew in chapters 8 through 12 reveals to us WHO Jesus is, and WHAT he is going to offer to those who SUFFER.  God explains to us why he came in 1st John 3:8, “. . . For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”  

 God wants us to understand that His miracles were God’s way of demonstrating the deity of His Son, and what the future would be for all who would be born into his family.  All of this is still a mystery to most Christians.

 1st Corinthians 15:51-58, “Behold, I shew you a mystery;  We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:  for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on in-corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  So when this corruptible shall have put on in-corruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is thy sting?  O grave, where is thy victory?  The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 

 Take a moment to think about this.  These are things that the world renown hospital MD Anderson in Houston cannot offer. No, not the famous Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, not the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Not the Shriner’s Hospital that offers hope to children.  Nothing compares to the hope God extends to us.  Yet, most are not even aware of these amazing benefits we have in Christ Jesus.

 God wants us to know that the Creator of all things came down to this earth and took upon himself the form of a human being.  In John 1:14 we read this.  “And the Word,” — that refers to the Deity Himself, to God Himself, “And the Word was made flesh…and dwelt among us...” John says.  ” … and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only Begotten of the Father.”  The apostle John is telling, “Deity became Man, and we beheld His deity.”  That’s what he’s saying — We saw His glory.  We saw essential deity.  We saw God!  But how, John?  How did you see that?  Where was it made known to us?  Through the life of his only begotten Son here on earth, and through the lives of the born-again believers who will allow the Lord Jesus to continue living his life on earth through us.

 Yes, we can continue to see our Lord Jesus, the invisible God, I see him every single day.  And we can see him exactly as Moses did.  It is written of Moses in Hebrews 11:24–27, “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.  By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: fro he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.”

 God wants us to provide Him with the same opportunity Moses finally allowed His Creator to do.  After running away from God’s call upon his life, Moses finally allowed said yes to God, and allowed Him to demonstrate His power through him in setting the people of God free from the bondage of Pharaoh.  These are the words of our Lord in John 10:25, “Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.” 

 In the eighth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, we find that the works our Lord Jesus did was designed to do just that — to show that they bore witness of Jesus as Immanuel, God with us.  In performing all of these miracles, our Lord Jesus was presenting his credentials to the world that he was indeed the King of Kings, God manifest in the flesh.

 Our Lord Jesus literally turned their religious world topsy-turvy.  He told them that their teaching was wrong,  and their living was wrong. He overturned their entire religious system.  He stripped them naked.  He unmasked them as the spiritual phonies that they were. This brought the wrath of many first century Jews upon him and caused them to say things like this:

 Who is this saying these things?  By what authority does He speak?  Why should we hear this?  Why should we believe this?  What gives Him the right to say these things and to affirm that they are true?

 Now, let’s begin with the first three miracles in the eighth chapter of Matthew:  the healing of a leper, the healing of the centurion’s servant and the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law.

 They begin at the lowest level of human need — the physical. He is able to HEAL us. He will also give us a NEW BODY!

 Later on in Matthew 8, in the second set of miracles, He cast out demons and calms the wind and the waves of the sea. Here our Lord deals more with the spiritual.

 Then in the third set of miracles (Matthew 9:18-26), the Lord Jesus even touches on the ultimate enemy of man, death itself, as He raises the dead.

 Another thing to note, in just in a kind of an overview, is that our Lord Jesus responds in love and grace to all who came to him. He never turns anyone away. This showcases His compassion and mercy. In one case, in Matthew 8:2, the leper says to Him, “And, behold, there came a leper and worshiped him, saying, Lord if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” In the second case, in Matthew 8:6-7, the friends of the centurion come to him, “And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, i will come and heal him.”

 In the third case, according to what Luke 4:38-41 adds in the parallel passage, the friends of the family of Peter say to Jesus, “And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon’s house. And Simon’s wife mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and and ministered unto them. Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ..” In all three cases, our Lord responded to the appeal of the heart of the people.

 Another thing to note in these three miracles is, in every case, our Lord Jesus acts on His own will. Though he is sympathetic and though He is at the same time deeply compassionate, he is also sovereign; and that is an important thing. In each case, he acts on His own volition. “I will come down and heal him.” He reached out His hand and touched her, and the fever left.”

 Again, in each of these miracles, our Lord Jesus Christ touches someone who, in the terms of the understanding of the Pharisees and the Jews, was at the lowest level of human existence. First a leper, unclean and the scum of the earth. Second, a Gentile; and third, a woman…In just that alone, there is a subtlety here that devastates the Jewish pride, the Pharisees’ pride. It can readily be seen where our Lord Jesus puts His emphasis — on the humble, the meek, and the outcast. The first person our Lord ever revealed His Messiah-ship to was a harlot in Samaria who wasn’t even a Jew! That said something to the Jewish society of His day. We can see that from the very start, our Lord Jesus makes it clear that He is going to establish His authority by showing WHO he is, by demonstrating his power. At the same time, God is revealing his love for those who are hurting at the lowest level of human need. He is compassionately going to respond to the cries of their friends and those who have acute needs; and, yet, our Lord Jesus is going to act sovereign as the Lord that He is.

 And as it is with the sons of Adam, the sad thing, the thing that just breaks the heart of every servant of God — is that with all of this, they turned their backs on the Savior. Those reprobate religious leaders accuse him in chapter 12, that what the Lord Jesus is doing, he does by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons. They hated Him. In fact, they hated him so much, they had to kill Him; because he upset their religious security. All in accordance with the eternal plan of God in bringing our redemption.

 This same hatred and worldliness continues to this day. You can see it in the same way that caused many of some of his disciples to walk away from him. Many are still walking away from their Creator and Savior today. We read in John 6:64-69, “But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time, many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou are that Christ, the Son of the living God.”

 Friend, God is waiting for you to allow him to demonstrate his power in and through your life. Turn to Him and let Him.

Printed with permission of Today, The Bible & You located at P.O. Box 1722, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74013, Phone No. (918) 279-1136. The name of the original article in the March 2020 issue of Today’s Front Page was “Discovering The Amazing Power of JESUS” www.JohnBarela.com 

Today, The Bible & You

Today’s Front Page

No. 1 in News and Inspiration

April 2020

Pope Francis I is Planning

A Global Meeting to Promote

An Aggressive “New Humanism”!

(CanadaFreePress.com, February 29, 2020) Pope Francis, under the weather for the past two days, canceled his official audiences Friday.

“The Vatican hasn’t said what exactly Francis has come down with, but he was coughing and blowing his nose during Ash Wednesday Mass this week, Global Education Pact.

 “His illness comes amid an outbreak of the coronavirus in Italy that has sickened more than 650 people, almost all of them in the north.  Rome had three cases, but all three recovered.”

  Pope Francis may, according to God’s Will, rally back from whatever it is that is ailing him.  But in the meantime, he is inflicting upon humanity—on a deadline of May 14— “A Sickness of the Soul’.

 All Marxist-inspired projects are introduced in a fashion that can be best described as cunning.  The ‘Sickness of the Soul’ set to infect the entire Christian world, comes May 14, 2020, is benignly being called the ‘Global Education Pact’ that will usher in a “new humanism”.

  No one does a better job describing the ‘Global Education Pact’ than writer David Martin in today’s Canada Free Press (CFP) column.

According to the Vatican,

God “Withdraws” so we can be “Free”.

 “Archbishop Vincernzo Zani, secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education who has been tasked with organizing the event explains the theological vision behind this “new humanism,” saying that God “withdraws” in order that might be free.

  In an interview with LifeSiteNews Vatican correspondent Diane Montragne, Zani made reference to “God who gives man strength, Liberty, and life but leaves him free.  It is an encounter of freedom.”

 Zani said that the teaching on Creation — which he says is not exclusively a Christian one — places the focus on man.  “It’s the centrality of the person.  God creates but then withdraws.  He leaves man, saying, “Go!”

 Montagna interjected: “Pardon me, but is this the Christian idea of man’s creation?  As Christians we do not believe in a God who leaves us alone. We believe in His supernatural action in the world.”

 Zani responded, “Yes, in the moment when God creates man, he gives him intelligence, heart, and the capacity for activity, and he tells him: ‘Go!'”

 This glaringly contrasts Christ’s appeal to “Come follow me.” The idea that God withdraws to allow for the possibility of human freedom is a Masonic idea.  It implies that if God doesn’t withdraw, we are not free.  It implies that our freedom consists in being away from God.  It advocates the Masonic freedoms.

  Atheists, modernist, and Freemasons see God as a “boogie-man,” and accordingly they see His Commandments as oppressive rules that we need to be “liberated” from. Their idea of freedom is to escape God and live in their own hellish zone.

  Accordingly, they maintain that there is no eternal damnation after death.  [Ring any bells?]  It calls to mind an often-expressed line of the Freemasons that “hell is nothing more than being away from God and what’s so bad about that!”

  In LifeSite’s interview with Archbishop Zani, also discussed the Global Education Pact “manifesto that will be signed at a globally televised event on May 14, 2020. Its relation to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal on education, and the role of the other monotheistic religions play in the Global Education Pact initiative.

  Why should anyone doubt that Pope Francis I is working against the true God of the Bible, for that is the true nature of Roman Catholicism!

 But Francis is also working toward achieving the global position which the Bible calls the False Prophet.  No one can understand what Pope Francis is doing if they do not understand Daniel, Chapter 10!

 As we detail in the DVD “Angels / Demonic Warfare in The Heavenlies”, daily battling between Godly Angels and ungodly demons in the Heavenlies determines the flow of history, precisely as Daniel 10 reveals.  Request a copy of this informative DVD for a gift of $20.00 or more by calling 1-918-279-1136.

  Godly angels are constantly battling ungodly demons over who would have control of human leaders.  The Demonic Overlord assigned to the Pope from the beginning of the Catholic Church, worked to bring that church from lukewarm Christian to Black Magick Satanism, so that Catholicism and its Pope could be ‘proper receptors to the New Age Christ (Antichrist).  You will see Catholicism in a completely different light.

 Since the Pope is the major world candidate to become the False Prophet of Revelation 13:11-18, we should not be too surprised that he is deliberately organizing a global pagan religion.

 Printed with permission of Today, The Bible & You located at P.O. Box 1722, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74013, Phone No. (918) 279-1136. The name of the original article in the April 2020 issue of Today’s Front Page was “Pope Francis I is Planning a Global Meeting to Promote an Aggressive “New Humanism”!” www.JohnBarela.com

Today, The Bible & You

Today’s Front Page

No. 1 in News and Inspiration

December 2019

What God Showed the Prophet Joel

3,000 Years Ago

 “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?  Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord God; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.  For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.  For I am the Lord: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God”. — Ezekiel 12:21-25

 These words deal with the problem doubters of God’s prophecies.  The unbelievers, encouraged by the false prophets, were saying, “Look we’ve heard all this before.  Nothing ever happens; things are going on just the same as they always have.”  God is simply telling them, “Your wicked generation is the very one that shall indeed see every prophetic vision fulfilled, you will see every prophecy vindicated, and all the predictions against your rebellious nation that will take place just like the prophets of God said they would.”

 In all generations, there have been scoffers with the same attitude.  The apostle Peter declared that, “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lust,  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming?  for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2nd Peter 3:3-4).

  One of the greatest prophecies beginning to be fulfilled before our very eyes was written in the Ninth century BC by the prophet Joel.  This is somewhat like the Old Testament version of the Book of Revelation.

   Joel’s vision given to him by God is found in Joel chapter two:

 “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.  A fire devoureth before them, and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.  The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.  Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.  Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.  They shall run like the mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one i his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.  They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.  The earth shall quake before them: the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining . . [in view of this God has a special word.]  Therefore said the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:  And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?. . [after the Tribulation period comes God’s blessing] . .  And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.  And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered:  for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.”

  God revealed to His prophet Joel the armies of Artificial Intelligence (AI) way before their time.

Even Russian President Vladimir Putin tells us how significant this is, as it was reported by CNN.

CNN: Who Vladimir Putin thinks

will rule the world

(CNN, September 2, 2017) On the first day of the new school year in Russia, students learned an important lesson directly from their president — who he thinks will rule the world.  Speaking to students during a national “open lesson” from the city of Yaroslavl, northeast of Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country that takes the lead in the sphere of computer-based artificial intelligence (AI) will rule. “Artificial intelligence is the future not only of Russia but of all of mankind,”  said Putin.  “There are huge opportunities, but also threats that are difficult to foresee today.”  “Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world,” he said, adding that it would be better to prevent any particular “pair of hands” from achieving a monopoly in the field.  If Russia becomes the leader in the development of artificial intelligence, “we will share our technology with the rest of the world, like we are doing now with atomic and nuclear technology,” said Putin.

[http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/01/world/putin-artificial-intelligence-will-rule-world/index.html]

Is Putin Correct?

 Will Joel’s vision of robots, rule the world with Artificial Intelligence, thus bringing about end of civilization?  Is the human race designing his way to destruction and programming its way to the apocalypse?  Artificial Intelligence (AI) was once synonymous with dystopian science fiction novels and films. But now it is a growing fear in the nonfiction world.  Intellectuals and world leaders fear that technological advancement will enable the uncontrolled rise of the robot.  The tech boom of the last century, particularly in the realm of modern warfare, is cause for concern. With the technology that human beings have developed, man could wipe himself out a thousand times over.  Already, we have been witnessing a new type of military warfare as President Trump and the military generals reported that they used cyber warfare in response to Iran.

  Many prophecies speak about a world of unparalleled advancements matched by unparalleled evils. It also speaks of the enslavement of nations, nuclear war, disease and death —- all in our lifetime!  Does this sound shocking?  Yes.  True?  Absolutely. This is why God commands Joel to SOUND THE ALARM!

 Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla is well known for warning of the threat AI poses to mankind.  On September 4, Musk tweeted, “Competition for AI superiority at national level most likely cause WW3 [in my opinion].”  He doesn’t mince words.  Musk once compared AI development to “summoning the demon.”

 Before a gathering of United States governors in July 2019, Musk warned, “I keep sounding the alarm bell, but until people see robots going down the street killing people, they don’t know how to react, because it seems so ethereal.”  This is precisely what the prophet Joel saw.  Musk isn’t alone. Renowned professor Stephen Hawking and the world’s richest man, Bill Gates, both share similar outlooks on AI.

  Stephen Hawking said, “I believe there is no deep difference between what can be achieved by a computer.  It, therefore, follows that computers can, in theory, emulate human intelligence—and exceed it.”  But he is wrong.  There is a difference, a vast difference.

What Robots Can Never Have:

There is something lacking in AI that cannot be created by men. It is something we possess that most of the world doesn’t even understand.

  All these scientists believe the human mind is solely physical.  If that is the case, then why couldn’t a scientist create an artificial copy, an intelligence that could rival or even exceed man’s own?  But there is a more fundamental reason that these scientists will never cease a human-type intellect.

 In Job 32:8, we read, “But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding”.  God continues with this astounding truth that has evaded most of humanity.  That no one ever be truly educated without the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God.

 John 32:9-12, “Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.  Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will shew mine opinion.  Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say.  Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words”.

 Artificial intelligence will never have this human spirit.  A robot can only calculate or do what it is reprogrammed to do.  Robots do not think and reason.  They do not have emotion or passion.  They do not have morals.  Machines do not have this power at their disposal.  As such, robots can never surpass mankind’s abilities.

 Throughout history, the unregenerate mind — energized by the prince of the power of the air — has set to devise and use means of destruction.  It has been the devils intent to destroy this earth and God’a highest creation, the human being.  The world now will have the ability to wipe ourselves from the face of the planet!

 God tells of the devils intent from the beginning in Revelation 11:18, “And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear they name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth”. 

 The Devil has the Mother of All AI’s programmed for something special.  It is revealed to us in Revelation 13:14-15:

 “And he deceives those who dwell on the earth who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make a image to the beast…  And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.”

But what is Artificial Intelligence?

  Artificial intelligence is intelligence displayed by machines, in contrast with the natural intelligence displayed by humans and other animals.  Most of us have been contact with a form of AI and perhaps have never fully realized what it actually is.  Myself and many of my family members and friends regularly talk to Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant.  We also visit with other AI inventions that are embedded in our cars, refrigerator, or throughout our home.  I have a friend in Colorado who has a home that is fully automated with every form of AI.  The AI talks back and responds directly to us about whatever it was that we wanted to know from it or to do for us Without even realizing it, many of us have daily interactions with AI.  It has become very common, and is continuing to grow more common.  Scientists and others who predict what the future holds (futurists) have even planned, for the future, to name this artificial intelligence (AI),, “Singularity.”  This refers to the time when it is no longer just the product of man, but has complete control over itself.

 In reference to the “image of the beast” in Revelation 13:15, the Greek words underlined in the verse above are poieõ eikõn thèrion, meaning that the fully deceived men of the earth of that time will be called upon by the False Prophet to construct a likeness of the Antichrist.  This means that the image of the Beast is not the same as the Beast himself (Antichrist), but is a constructed thing that has “come to life.”

  Added to the description of the image having “breath,” gives us the impression that it is some kind of self-operating machine, a computer-operated cybernetic robot, programmed so that it can speak and act like it’s alive and command the worship of the world.  Artificial intelligence and robotics are advancing so rapidly today, making this prophecy no longer futuristic.  Imagine how far fetched this would have sounded to the apostle John, not to even mention what the prophet Joel must have thought.

  Robots are increasingly replacing human functions by automating manual tasks.  Killer robots, digital doctors, and driverless cars are just a few examples of how far technology has gone in taking over our lives and replacing human effort.  Today, in the State of Arizona, there are driverless large semi-trucks that are being used to deliver huger payloads of goods.  Clearly friend, it is time to SOUND THE ALARM — to SOUND THE TRUMPET.  Science is racing towards giving life to an “image” in many forms already.

 Researchers at the University of Washington have developed an artificial intelligence software so powerful that it can put words in the mouth of just about anybody.

  A recent, a new religion known as “Way Of The Future”, worship a godhead based on AI!  They say that their focus is on “the realization, acceptance, and worship of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) developed through computer hardware and software.”  It includes funding research to help create the divine AI itself. This is actually happening.

 Entire fields of science are now racing towards achieving Singularity (The merging of man’s biological thinking and existence with technology to the point there is no distinction between human and machine), scientists are planning it for the future, here’s some recent news headlines:

• Former Google and Uber engineer is developing an AI ‘god.’
• Why humans will happily follow a ROBOT messiah: Religions based on AI will succeed because we tend to ‘worship supreme understanding’, claim experts.
• Religion That Worships Artificial Intelligence Wants Machine To Be In Charge Of The Planet.
• Inside The First Church Of Artificial Intelligence.
• The Rise of AI: Give Me That New Time Religion?

 The world’s next religion could have a ROBOT God because humans are pre-programmed to worship things more intelligent than ourselves, experts claim.

  The concept of the Internet was known in scientific circles for many years before it reached the public.  Today the Internet and all the technology surrounding it is used everyday by huge numbers of the public.  The scientists were working on cloning long before the first sheep was cloned.  The same concept holds true with Singularity, that is now taking place.  Humans are already being blended with machines, unaware of by the public.  They make AI look beneficial these days, for examples, who can question an artificial eye for the blind, or a microchip implanted into the brain to help a quadriplegic?  However, in the end, the blending of human biology with mechanical technology will very likely be used for evil.

  But our faithful Creator God has set a boundary to what the devil can do.  Our Lord Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Those who would destroy, will be destroyed.  As this is the reason our Lord Jesus came to this earth.  It is written in 1st John 3:8, “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.  For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”

 Revelation 4:11, “Thou are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created”.

Printed with permission of Today, The Bible & You located at P.O. Box 1722, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74013, Phone No. (918) 279-1136. The name of the original article in the December 2019 issue of Today’s Front Page was “What God Showed the Prophet Joel 3,000 Years Ago” www.JohnBarela.com  

Today, The Bible & You

Today’s Front Page

No. 1 to News and Inspiration

December 2019

Timeline of the End Times

By Britt Gillete

 Much has been written about the last days and the end times just prior to the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But just how do these events fit together?  What is the chronology of events which will take place in the last days?  Following is a summary overview of the sequence of major events set to take place during this time period:

1) The Rapture of the Church

 In all likelihood, the next event on God’s prophetic calendar is the Rapture of the church.  Loosely translated, the word ‘rapture’ means to ‘catch up’ or ‘snatch away.’  Prior to the Tribulation period, Jesus Christ will return in the clouds to gather all earthly Born-again believers unto Himself.  Paul revealed this event in his letter to the 1st Corinthians 15:51-53.

 Paul is clear in his statement that not every Christian will die.  Some will be transformed “in the twinkling of an eye” before their earthly lives have come to an end.  But will this event happen before, during, or after the Tribulation?  The answer is clear when this passage is taken in context with other biblical passages.

When Least Expected

 Jesus taught His disciples to expect His return at any moment, for no one can know the day of His coming (Matthew 24:42-44).  We must be ready all the time. The Rapture will occur unexpectedly, much like a thief in the night.  This is consistent with the teaching of Jesus that no one will know the day or the hour of His coming: as we are also instructed in Matthew 24::36-39 that it would be as it was in the days of Noah.

      If the return of Jesus is a truly unexpected event which takes the world by surprise, then by definition most of the world can not be waiting in anticipation.  Therefore, the Rapture must occur before the Tribulation.  Why?  Because once the numerous and specific prophecies concerning the Tribulation are being fulfilled in world events, most of the world will take notice.

2) The War of Gog and Magog

 The next event on God’s prophetic timeline is the War of Gog and Magog.  The leader of Russia will form a military coalition which includes the nations Iran, Libya, Ethiopia, and Turkey and he will lead them against the nation of Israel.  We are provided with a detailed account in Ezekiel 38:1-16.  God will display His glory to all the nations of the world by personally destroying this Russian military coalition.  This will happen either at the beginning of, or sometime before, the tribulation.  How do we know?  Because God tells us the nation of Israel will use the leftover implements of this war as fuel for seven years in Ezekiel 39:9.

 Israel will not use these weapons as fuel during the Millennial Kingdom, since Jesus Christ will provide all the light and energy that is needed for daily living. And since the tribulation leading up to the Millennial Kingdom lasts a total of seven years, it’s only logical that the War of Gog and Magog either takes place before the tribulation or else marks it beginning.

3) The Antichrist’s 7-Year Covenant with Israel

 The Antichrist will reveal himself by confirming a covenant with the nation of Israel as recorded in Daniel 9:27.  The details and nature of this treaty are yet unknown, but many have speculated that in a bid for Middle Eastern peace, Israel will agree to rely on the Antichrist for its national defense.  It is generally accepted that the signing of this accord with Israel will mark the beginning of the Tribulation period.

4) The Tribulation (Daniel’s 70th Week)

 The War of Gog and Magog either occurs at the beginning of the tribulation or signals its approach.  The Tribulation is a period of seven years of turmoil and horror which will come upon the world.  The time period is also known as Daniel’s seventieth week, as the concept was laid out by God in the Book of Daniel 9:24.  This passage clearly states that a period of 490 years is allotted for the nation of Israel to accomplish God’s purposes.  It also reveals that 483 years after the command was given to rebuild Jerusalem.  The arrival of Jesus Christ fulfilled 69 of the prophetic 7-year periods outlined in the Book of Daniel, with one period yet remaining, Daniel 9:26.  Since the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the world has been living on borrowed time.  Once the Rapture of the church puts an end to the “Age of Grace,” the final seven year period will begin.  This is widely known as the Tribulation, and it officially begins with the Antichrist’s confirmation of a covenant with Israel.

5) Global Government

 During the Tribulation, the Antichrist will consolidate his power quickly and all the nations of the world will soon fall under his authority as we are told in Revelation 13:7.  Not one person will escape the reach of the Antichrist and his governmental dominion as we are clearly told in Revelation 13:16-17.

 The Antichrist will have unprecedented control over the world’s financial transactions.  He will have so much power that he will be able to determine on a case-by-case basis which individuals will be allowed to buy or sell anything.

6) Satan Thrown to the Earth

  At the midpoint of the Tribulation period, a war will break out in heaven that is described to us in Revelation 12:7-12.  Traditionally, people have believed Satan resides in Hell, but Hell is actually his future destination.  Up until the mid-point of the Tribulation, Satan will continue to run to and fro deceiving the nations.  Many have often wondered why God allows evil to exist.  They fail to understand that we live in the midst of an epic spiritual war, pitting the forces of evil (Satan) against the forces of righteousness (Jesus).  Satan’s rebellion is an event from the ancient past, but on God’s eternal timeline, it’s a relatively recent event.  God will not tolerate Satan’s rebellion, and the ultimate victor in this war is clear.  Satan will lose.  This event will occur at the mid-point of the Tribulation, and it will mark a terrible time for those who live on the earth.

7) The Abomination of Desolation 

 Satan’s crushing defeat and subsequent fall to earth will coincide with another prophesied event — the Abomination of Desolation as described in Daniel 9:27.  In fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy, the Antichrist will enter the Jewish Temple and proclaim himself to be God.  He will set up an image in the Holy Place and demand the world to worship it.  Our Lord Jesus warned His disciples of this terrible event in Matthew 24:16,  The apostle Paul also described this abominable act in 2nd Thessalonians 2:4 with Antichrist exalting himself above God claiming to be God.  The Bible is clear that the Abomination of Desolation will occur at the mid-point of the Tribulation where Daniel 9:27 tells us it will occur.

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8) The Jews Flee Israel

 Following the Abomination of Desolation, the Jews flee Israel from the great persecution as recorded in Matthew 24:15-21.  The Jewish people will flee into the wilderness where God Himself will supernaturally protect them from a second holocaust at the hands of the Antichrist.  You can read about this in Revelation 12:5.  The Jews who escape will remain under God’s protection for the duration of the Tribulation period, three and a half years.

9) The Mark of the Beast

 As part of his nefarious system of self-worth the Antichrist will establish a global financial system by which no one can buy or sell without his permission as we are told in Revelation 13:16-17 where no one can buy or sell without his mark.  The Antichrist and his followers will pay a hefty price for accepting the mark of the beast.  The Bible tells us that ALL who accept the mark of the beast will face eternal judgment for their decision.  The following verses reveal the consequences of this rebellion against God (Revelation 14:9-11).

                                                                                                      Acceptance of the mark is not a matter to be taken lightly.  Anyone who accepts the mark denies Christ in favor of a false god.  This decision, once made is irrevocable, and the consequences are everlasting.

10) The Great Tribulation

 The final three and a half years of the Tribulation will be known as The Great Tribulation, a time of unrivaled horror.  The 7 Bowl Judgments (Revelation 16:1-21) will take place during this time.  And the Antichrist, demanding the world worship him as if he were God Almighty, will institute a world-wide campaign to murder and destroy all those who worship the one true God.  This period is known as The Great Tribulation, and it comprises the final three and a half years of the seven year Tribulation (Daniel 7:25; Revelation 12:14).  The Bible is clear in stating the the Great Tribulation will occur in the last three and a half years before the Glorious Appearing of Jesus Christ.

11) The Appearance of the Two Witnesses

 During the tribulation period, God will give power to two of His special witnesses, who will prophesy throughout the Great Tribulation (Revelation 11:3-6)).  For 1,260 days, these two witnesses will prophesy to the world, and despite a plethora of enemies, no one will be able to harm them.  During that time, they will have the power to end rainfall, turn the rivers and oceans to blood, and send every kind of plague upon the earth.

12) Babylon Destroyed in One Hour

  In the last days, the City of Babylon will not only rise to worldly prominence once again, but it will face the judgment of God Almighty in a single day (Revelation 18:8-10).  The merchants and kings of the world will mourn the destruction of this worldly city, which had been the apex of human rebellion. The city of Babylon will become a city of unparalleled wealth and opulence, as well as a city of debauchery, idolatry, sorcery, sexual immorality, and every other sort of unholy abomination.  In the aftermath of its judgment, those who reveled in its sins will literally sob because of its loss.

13) The Death of the Two Witnesses

  At the end of the Great Tribulation, when their testimony is complete, the two witnesses of God will be killed.  Their bodies will lie unburied in the main street of Jerusalem as the world celebrates its good fortune (Revelation 11:7-10).  However, what happens next will strike fear in those who dare to celebrate, when God brings them back to life and with a loud voice from heaven shouts, “come up here!”  Then a huge earthquake takes place where 7,000 people die.  Just as Jesus Christ rose from the dead after three days and three nights, so will His two witnesses be resurrected after three and a half days.  The Book of Revelation tells us that terror will strike all those who are staring at them.

14) The Gathering at Armageddon

     In the aftermath of Satan being thrown to the earth, mankind will attempt to cast off every restraint of God’s authority.  The evil demons under his command will convince the leaders of the world to gather together in order to do battle against God Almighty and His Son Jesus Christ (Revelation 16:13-14).  The final gathering place for this battle will be a geographical location in the nation of Israel, known by everyone as Armageddon (Revelation 16:16).

  It is here at Armageddon, that the final human attempt at world government will come to an end.  In fulfillment of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the statue which represents human government will be smashed by the supernatural.  The Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ will take its place, and it will never be destroyed.

15) The Glorious Appearing of Jesus Christ

                       While gathered at Armageddon rebellious humanity will witness the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:27).  The appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ in the sky will be unmistakable to the people of this world.  As they gather to do battle with Him, Christ will take up their challenge and take on the entire human race (read Zechariah 14:3-5 for this grand scene).  As the Lord’s feet touch down on the Mount of Olives, a giant earthquake will split the ground.  Jesus Christ will come in vengeance against His enemies, as the Commander of Heaven’s Armies.

16) The Birth of the Millennial Kingdom

 Following His victory over the enemies of God, Jesus Christ will establish the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth as it is described for us in Zechariah 14:6-9.  What a glorious day that will be.  The world will rejoice, because the world will finally be filled with peace and justice!

                                                       (Britt Gillette is founder of BrittGillete.Com, a website examining the relationship between Bible prophecy and emerging trends in technology.)

Printed with permission of Today, The Bible & You located at P.O. Box 1722, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74013, Phone No. (918) 279-1136. The name of the original article in the December 2019 issue of Today’s Front Page was “Timeline of the End Times.” www.JohnBarela.com 

Today, The Bible & You

Today’s Front Page

 No. 1 In News and Inspiration

 May 2019

Israel’s 70th Year & Bible Prophecy:

God’s Numerical Patterns

 NUMBERS have meaning in  Scripture. The number 70, as shown in the examples below, symbolizes fullness, restoration, and an endpoint:

• The post-flood world was repopulated by 70 descendants of Noah, resulting in 70 nations (Genesis 10).
• Terah, the father of Abraham was 70 years old when Abraham was born (Genesis 11:26).
• The Nation of Israel began with 70 Hebrews who migrated to Egypt (Exodus 1:1-5).
• Moses appointed 70 elders to be the governing body of Israel (Numbers 11:16).
• Following the liberation from bondage in Egypt, the children of Israel camped at an oasis of 70 palm trees (Exodus 15:27).
• The Jews were liberated from captivity in Babylon after 70 years (Jeremiah 29:10).
• God’s plan of redemption for Israel and Jerusalem is comprised of 70 weeks (Daniel 9:24-27).
• Jesus sent  out 70 disciples to harvest the field of believers (Luke 10:1 KJV).
• A typical human lifespan is 70 years (Psalms 90:10).
• Israel’s greatest ruler, King David, died at the age of 70 (2nd Samuel 5:4).

 Seeing how the number 70 symbolizes restoration, it’s interesting that restoration, it’s interesting that restoration-themed events in Israel’s history tend to occur at a 70-year interval:

• From the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C. to the completion of the Second Temple in 515-16 B.C. is 70 years.
• From the UN vote in favor of the establishment of the modern State of Israel in 1947 to the first recognition by a foreign power (U.S.) that Jerusalem is its capital in 2017 is 70 years.

 The most significant 70-year intervals correspond to the dates 1948 and 1967:

• From the first modern Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel (Petah Tikvah) in 1878 to the birth of the Nation in 1948 is 70 years.
• From the first major step in reestablishing the State of Israel (First Zionist Congress) in 1897 to the final step (restoration of Jerusalem)) in 1967 is 70 years.

 Notice that both watershed events related to Israel’s restoration to the Land — the rebirth of the Nation in 1948 and the restoration of its capital in 1967 — are preceded by a seminal event 70 years earlier. The odds against this occurring by chance are astronomical, suggesting divine orchestration.

 While the events of 1948 and 1967 were vital to God’s plan to redeem the Jews and the Holy City, they did not represent the endpoint. When we extend the pattern forward 70 years from 1948, we arrive at the biblical year spanning 2018-19.

1878-79 + 70 = 1948-49 + 70 = 2018-19

 2018-19 is a logical endpoint for the 70-year pattern because Jesus says the generation who sees Israel reborn will see the end of the age (Matthew 24:32-34).  A generation is defined as 70 years in Scripture (Psalm 90:10).

  Another reason  2018-19 is a logical endpoint for the 70-year pattern is that it represents the third date-milepost. The number thre signifies completeness of testimony in Scripture.

 “This will be my third visit to you. ‘Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (2nd Corinthians 13:1).

CONVERGENCE

 In addition to the 70 years from 1948, a timeline in Daniel’s weeks prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27) points to 2018-19.  In verse 25, the angel Gabriel reveals how many weeks (seven -year periods) will elapse from the time a decree is issued to rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah the Prince comes to rule:

 “Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty two weeks” (Daniel 9:25).

 The modern-day rebuilding of Jerusalem began in 1969. When we add Daniel’s seven weeks, or 49 years, to this date we arrive at 2018-19.

1969  + 49 =  2018-19

 What are the  odds that Israel’s prophetic 70th  year would correspond to the 49th year since the rebuilding of Jerusalem began?

 If the 70 / 49 convergence in 2018-19 isn’t uncanny enough, here’s another: The “seven weeks and sixty-two weeks” in Daniel’s prophecy add up to 483 years.  When we add 483 years to the time that an earlier decree to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls was issued  in 1535 A.D. by the Ottoman Emperor Suleiman, we, again arrive at 2018-19.

     1535 A.D. + 483 = 2018-19

 Thus, we have three key eschatological timelines pointing to 2018-19.  But there’s more. Israel’s 70th year also  corresponds to the calculated 6.000 year from Creation, the time that the seventh thousand-year  (millennial) day known as the “Day of the Lord” begins.

 6,000 A.D. –  3982-83

                                          (Creation of Adam) = 2018-19

PEACE AND SAFETY

 Another factor pointing to 2018-19 is the drafting of a Middle East peace plan dubbed the “Deal of the Century.”  This is crucial because the fundamental sign given by Paul to the Church to identify the season of the Rapture is people saying “peace and Safety”:

 “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind …. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command …  and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air …. Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates [of this event] we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety.’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1st Thessalonians 4:13, 16, 17,; 1st Thessalonians 5:1-3).

 While there have been a number of peace plans proposed since the restoration of Jerusalem in 1967 , the Deal of the Century is the only one to coincide with a convergence of key eschatological timelines, begging the question: if the talk of peace and safety in 2018-19 isn’t that which Paul was alluding to, then what could he have been alluding to, and how will we recognize it when it occurs?

  Assuming that Paul’s peace-and-safety sign is manifesting before our eyes, consider the ominous scenario: Daniel’s weeks prophecy assigns a period of 70 weeks (490 years)  to redeem the Jews and Jerusalem. In 2018-19, exactly 70 years  after the Jews return to the Land, and 49 years after Jerusalem was restored as its capital, a peace plan has been drafted that purportedly aims to divide the Holy City.

  Do you see the problem?

  God’s plan calls for the restoration of the Holy City, while the world’s plan is to divide it.  Dividing Jerusalem is prohibited because it belongs to the One who will reign there during the millennium (Jeremiah 3:17). The Lord has been patient for decades as Israel has tried to secure peace by giving away land.  A plan that aims to divide the Land around the 6,000th year from creation, however — the time that Messiah the Prince is set to take possession — explains why destruction will come “suddenly” upon those saying  peace and safety (1st Thessalonians 5:3).

  PARALLELS TO PONDER:

Exile–                                                                                                                                                        Ancient Israel was called physically from the Land for 70 years.  Ix it possible that modern Israel’s 70 years represent a time of spiritual exile in which the Jews are present in the Land yet separated from the heart of Messiah?  The physical exile preceding the spiritual makes sense in light of Paul’s teaching that the physical man, Adam, precedes the spiritual, Jesus (1st Corinthians 15:45-49).

Judgment–                                                                                                                                                When Israel’s 70 years of exile were complete, God judged Babylon (Jeremiah 29:12).  Could the completion of modern-day Israel’s 70th year mark the beginning of judgment for “spiritual Babylon,” i.e. the world?

Holocaust–                                                                                                                                               2018-19 marks 80 years since the beginning of the seven-year Holocaust period (1938–45). Could 2018-19 also mark the beginning of the ultimate time of Jacob’s Trouble?  History records that during the Holocaust an estimated two-thirds of the Jewish populations of Europe was systematically murdered.

 Similarly, Zechariah says that two thirds of Israel will perish during the Tribulation: “In all the land, declares  the LORD, ‘two-thirds will be cut off and perish, but a third will be left in it. This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold'” (Zechariah 13:8, 9).

                                                    CONCLUSION 

  In the Bible, the number 70 signifies fullness, restoration. and an endpoint.

 It’s significant that the number 71  through 80 do not typify restoration or an endpoint in any comparable way in Scripture.

 Israel’s 70th year, ending spring 2019, marks the convergence of four prophetic time spans and the drafting of the most anticipated Middle East peace plan in half a century. If this once-in-history convergence is God’s way of declaring the season of His return, the world may soon see the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation week.

 In this scenario, the Church’s redemption occurs “seven sevens” after Jerusalem’s rebuilding began, while Israel’s redemption occurs after “seventy sevens,” at the end of Daniel’s 70th week. The dividing line that separates the Church Age from the time of Jacob’s Trouble is Israel’s 70th year.

  Spelled out another way:

7 x 10 (70) = end of the Church Age / start of Tribulation

7 x 7 (49) = Church’s redemption (rapture)

7 x 70 (490) = Israel’s redemption (resurrection)

 Notice that in each case multiples of God’s perfect number “7” signify ultimate perfection and completion.

 Having put forth a scenario, it goes without saying that we cannot set a time limit on Jesus’ return.  No man knows the day, and Scripture is clear that our prophetic range of vision is limited on this side of the last trump (1st Corinthians 13:13; Matthew 24:36-44).

 On the other hand, believers should understand that nowhere in the Bible is speculation about the year or season of the Rapture discouraged. In fact, believers are encouraged to study the clues, to recognize the season, and be watching when the Lord returns (Hebrews 10:25; Luke 12:37; Luke 21:28; Ezekiel 33:6). This is why the numbers and timelines are included in Scripture:  This is why Daniel provides the countdown of “weeks” to Messiah (Daniel 9:25).

 This is why Jesus links the time of His return to the rebirth of Israel and a definite (generation) time span (Matthew 24:32-34; Psalm 90:10). This is why Scripture is brimming with typologies like the 70 years in Babylon,, which commentators agree  is a picture of humanity’s time of separation or exile in the fallen world.

 Around 2,560 years ago, when the 70 years of Babylonian captivity were nearly over Daniel understood by Jeremiah’s prophecy that the time of liberation was at hand:

 “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you the good things i have promised, and i will bring you home” (Jeremiah 29:10).

 Today, as the end of Israel’s 70th year draws near, many are coming to understand by the prophecies that our time of liberation is at hand.  Like Daniel, we’re not privy to the day or hour, but we know it’s soon

NOTES:                                                                                                                                                       1.) Additional evidence that 1948 and 1967 are central dates in God’s plan of redemption:

• Abraham, the father of the Nation of Israel, was born 1,948 years from Creation.
• The years 1948 and 1967 have been shown by scholars like Dr. Ken Johnson and Ellis H. Skolfield to have been mathematically predicted in Scripture.
• The years 1948 and 1967 were highlighted by total lunar eclipses on biblical feast days, evoking the prophecies about the moon  being turned to blood  before the great and terrible day of the Lord (Joel 2:31).
• The 19th book and 48th chapter in the Bible (Psalm 48) describe the rebirth  of Israel.
• The numbers 19 and 48 add up to 67 which is the year that Israel’s capital, Jerusalem, was restored.
• Gold is heated to exactly 1,948 degrees (1948) Fahrenheit during the refining process. Scripture compares Israel’s deliverance during Jacob’s trouble to the refining and purification process of precious metal (Zechariah 13:9).
• During Israel’s 70th anniversary, a comet discovered in 1948 made its closest flyby since that time. On the day of optimal viewing, the comet passed within a few degrees of the star cluster Pleiades, which is said to be a heavenly representation of the Church.
• When we add 1,948 years to 70 A.D. (the year the Second Temple was destroyed), we arrive at the biblical year spanning 2018-19. When we reverse the numbers and add 70 years to 1948 we, again arrive at 2018-19.
• 1948 + 70 years = 2018-19.  2018-19 marks 70 jubilees from the time of the Exodus (circa 1500 B.C.), when Israel was called out as a Nation. Thus, 2018-19 marks 70 jubilees since Israel’s original birth and 70 years since the nation was born a second time.

1.) Some put the Exodus at 1522 B.C. which means the Jews entered the land of Canaan circa 1482 B.C.  If this calculation is correct, as of 2018-19 it has been exactly 3,500 years, since the Jews first entered the Promised Land.

2.) Biblical years begin and end on Nisan 1 in the spring (Exodus 12:1, 2).

3.) In 1969, the Jewish Quarter Development Company was established under the auspices of the Construction and Housing Ministry to rebuild the desolate Old City of Jerusalem: https://www.rovayehudi.org.il/company-profile/ 

 A May 9, 1969 headline about the rebuilding of Jerusalem from the St. Petersburg Times:

“Jerusalem Restoration On  

High Priority List”

“JERUSALEM, May 9, 1969 — One of he most dramatic restoration projects in the history of cities   is forging ahead in the ancient walled city of Jerusalem.  The reconstruction of the Jewish quarter of the Old City, lost to the Jews in the 1948 war after centuries of occupancy, is one of the high priority projects of the Israeli government.”

 It’s interesting that from the day the above article was published in 1969 (May 9) to Israel’s Independence Day in 2019 (May 9) is exactly 50 years. (Israelis observe their Independence Day according to the Hebrew calendar date. Modern-day Israel was born on the Hebrew calendar day of Iyyar 5, corresponding to May 9 in 2019.)

4.) Based on the genealogies in Genesis, D. Petavius  determined that Adam was created in 3 ,983 B.C.

5.) The Holocaust (1938-45) is a type of Jacob’s Trouble, or Tribulation:  The first major actions against the Jews (Krystallnacht, decrees banning business and property ownership. and ordinances banning attendance at public schools) began in Germany in 1938.

  In 1939 Germany invaded Poland considered to be the start of World War II) and began opening forced labor camps and ghettos to segregate and confine Jews. Major killing operations began in 1941 and peaked between 1942 and 1945 when  World War II ended. Interestingly, from the end of the Holocaust on May 9, 1945 (V-Day) to the anniversary of Israel’s rebirth in 2019 (Iyyar 5) is exactly 888 months.

6.) The biblical year ends Nisan 1 (April 6-7) in 2019.  Counting from Israel’s May 14 , 1948 birthday, the 70th year ends May 14 (Gregorian) or May 9-10 (Hebrew) in 2019.

7.) The number 7 and 10 symbolize perfection and completion in Scripture.  The number 70, a combination of these two perfect numbers, represents an intensification of the themes, thus denoting ultimate perfection and completion.

8.) 7 x 70 (490) denotes an ultimate end, and redemption, or forgiveness of sin:

• A total of 70 bulls are sacrificed during the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles (70 x 7), which will  be fulfilled at the end of the seven-year tribulation, marking the end of the 70th week (7 x 70).
• In both Daniel and Matthew, “seventy sevens,” or 490, is the number linked to the ultimate forgiveness of sin (Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew 18:21, 22).

  Many Christians do not understand the importance of Bible numbers and the huge part they play in God’s overall revelation.   However, more and more Christian scientists are in wide agreement that God is a mathematical God, and that Bible numbers have a significant role in the overall outworking of God’s Word. (i.e. you can Google “Bible number 70” etc.).

  This is the point: God measures time in several ways (1,000-days called Millennial Days; 50-year cycles called Jubilee Cycles; 70-year cycles, etc.), and all of these ways of measuring time are hitting on significant numbers right now.

  The numbers appear to be saying that the world is reaching a significant point on God’s prophetic clock.

  It’s definitely time to look up!

Printed with permission of Today, The Bible & You located at P.O. Box 1722, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74013, Phone No. (918) 279-1136. The name of the original article in the May 2019 issue of Today’s Front Page was “Israel’s 70th Year & Bible Prophecy: God’s Numerical Patterns” www.JohnBarela.com

Today, The Bible & You

Today’s Front Page

No. 1 in News and Inspiration

December 2016

9 Reasons to Stay Away From Porn

  (Tyler Ward, Christian Post OP-ED, 09/24/16)

 Pornography has little to do with sex and everything to do with fantasy. And if not confronted, this addition to fantasy can become a consuming fire threatening all quality of life.  So before you go looking again for that woman on the screen, here are nine reasons to stay away from porn.

1. Porn makes you unhappy and bored.

 Research says that those who regularly indulge themselves in pornography are more likely to  have higher levels of anxiety and depression and lower levels of self-esteem than those who don’t.  The brain is to blame for this.

 Apparently, as one artificially stimulates the pleasure center of their brain with porn, it perpetually weakens in its ability to respond to natural kinds of pleasure.

 Before we know it, real life has to compete with the unnatural and artificial levels of chemical excitement that porn offers. Real life — and our marriage — often lose this competition.

 Pamela Paul, the author of Pornified, puts it this way: “Pornography leaves men desensitized to both outrage and to excitement, leading to an overall diminishment of feeling and eventually to dis-satisfaction with the emotional tugs of everyday life . . . Eventually they are left with a confusing mix of supersized expectations and numbed emotions . . . and become imbued with indifference.  The real world often gets really boring.” 

 Sex with our wives proves to be quite a different story. The natural chemicals and pleasure real sex creates doesn’t inflate our expectations or numb our emotions.  According to studies performed by the Institute for the Study of Labor, real sex actually makes us happier. The same studies also show that married people have more sex than those who are not married, and even experience far higher levels of satisfaction in life.

2. Porn neuters you.

 Some people believe that pornography can add excitement to their sex life. However, studies prove just the opposite. Porn actually produces less intimacy between partners, and less satisfaction in real sexual experiences.

 Dr. Mary Anne Layden writes in the The Social  Cost of Pornography, “I have also seen in my clinical experience that pornography damages the sexual performance of the viewers.  Pornography viewers tend to have problems with premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction.  Having spent so much time in unnatural sexual experiences with paper, celluloid and cyberspace, they seem to find it difficult to have sex with a real human being.”

 Because of pornography, men have trouble getting turned on by their wives who happen to not be cybersex slaves. As a result, they don’t enjoy real sex nearly as much as they used to.. This is because porn makes us less satisfied with our partner’s affection, physical appearance and sexual performance.

  On the contrary, when porn isn’t a part of marriage, real sex proves to only get better with time.  Sociolosgist Mandi Norwood discovered that socially unenforced reality after interviewing several hundred women.  She found that married women are satisfied in the bedroom because of years of practice, less inhibitions, and the time to learn their partner.

3. Porn is not manly.

 Though conquering that woman on the screen in your mind may make you feel like a man, there’s nothing manly about it.

  Real sex involves you.  All of your fears. All of your insecurities.  All of your capacity to give.

  It also involves another very real person. All her needs. All of her baggage. All of her propensity to judge you and hurt your dignity.

  Porn requires no work, no sacrifice, and no maturity. Real sex in marriage requires you to risk, to be vulnerable, to give yourself fully to another person.  This kind of intimacy is not for boys. It’s for men only.

4. Porn doesn’t make friends.

Studies show that men who use porn commonly become isolated from others, highly introverted, narcissistic, dissociative, and distractible.  In other words, it doesn’t exactly make you a likable person.

 Neurochemistry teaches that the more that you bond with fantasies on your computer screen, the harder it is to actually bond with real people.This is because the strongest bonding substance in our lives is oxytocin — the hormone released during orgasm.

 As this powerful bonding substance becomes consistently associated with porn, it becomes easier for us to feel connected in fantasy than it is in reality.

 Porn kills human connection. And human connection is what relationship lives and dies by.

5. Porn is a professional liability.

 Pornography is the mater of preoccupation.  According to recent polls, 18 percent of men who view porn regularly admit to be distracted by it even when not online, and 30 percent acknowledge that their work performance suffers because of this distraction.

 In striking contrast, research also proves that across the board, men who have a healthy sex life make more money than those who don’t.

 You decide what’s better.

6. Porn hurts your significant other.

 It’s easy to think that your porn habit is private, and doesn’t affect anyone but you. Yet as we’ve already seen, porn inevitably kills a man’s ability to emotionally connect and consistently monopolizes his desires.

 Whether your wife knows you are using pornography or not, your actions have already hurt her.

 Rabbi Arush puts it this way: “A woman is not just a body, but a vibrant soul that thrives on intimacy, attention, communication, consideration, respect, and the love of two souls binding together.  A husband that focuses on his own physical gratification doesn’t provide his wife with any of the emotional and spiritual gratification that is the basis of her vitality.”

7. Porn will turn you into “that guy.”

 You know “that guy.” Most crowds have at least one.  He’s the one who cares about no one but himself.  He sees you and all others as commodities to be used, not people to be cared for.  No matter how much you can’t stand “that guy,” as long as you continue to dabble in porn, you run the risk of becoming him.

 Gail Dines puts it bluntly in her book Pornland, “In the story of porn, men are soulless, unfeeling, amoral life-support systems . . . who are entitled to use women in any way they want. These men demonstrate zero empathy, respect. or love for the women that have sex with.”

 No one wants to be “that guy.”   What’s more, no one wants to be with “that guy” who only sees women as consumable objects and cares for no one but himself.

8. Porn will never actually do it for you.

 “Just as Twinkies are artificially enhanced,” says the nonprofit team Fight the New Drug, “and modified food that really aren’t good for you, pornography is an artificially enhanced and modified sexual experience that isn’t good for you either, and your body knows it.”

 Lust, is never satisfied. It only wants more.

9. Porn will kill your relationship.

 In the eight reasons above, we’ve looked to science, social studies, and history to witness the effects that pornography has on those who entertain it.  We’ve seen that it kills everything long-term love is built on human connection, trust and self-sacrifice.  It’s no wonder, then, that at least 56 percent of divorce cases today involve one party who compulsively visits pornographic websites.

 Your marriage may survive your habit for a period of time.  However, if you continue to choose fantasy over reality, it will inevitably destroy your ability to love your wife.

 As modern men, we certainly have plenty of unnatural things to navigate to keep our marriages healthy and alive. However, my hope is that —  with a vision of a marriage that is worth fighting for — we’re more determined than ever to do just that.

Printed with permission of Today, The Bible & You located at P.O. Box 1722, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74013, Phone No. (918) 279-1136. The name of the original article in the December 2016 issue of Today’s Front Page was “9 Reasons to Stay Away from  Porn” www.JohnBarela.com