Aug 25, 2008
Donation Drive September to November
Once again, it's time to reflect on the accomplishments we've achieved at Rapture Ready. I have an endless number of people to thank for providing large and small inputs into the site.
The news posters and message board moderators have carried the heaviest load. I am endlessly thankful for their help. I would like to make special recognition of one individual: Jamie has been very helpful in keeping the "Timeline" pages updated.
This is the most productive quarter we’ve ever had for articles. According to my count, we have added 227 to the site. As authors realize the reach that RR has on the net, they are very eager for us to feature their work.
I’m probably the most proud about the work we done in improving the reach of the mirror sites. Several have been upgraded, and we’ve added six more to the roster. We now have a grand total of 28 mirror sites to play their role in our Master Plan.
This donation drive comes at a time of heightened prophetic activity. For the past couple of weeks, Russia’s aggressiveness in Georgia has been causing a surge in RR’s traffic. The Rapture Ready message board has set several all-time records for visitors. The main site hasn’t been this active in nearly two years.
Whenever I see signs of prophecy moving forward, I always think of how time is running out and what needs to be accomplished. The enticing nature of prophetic events is a real problem for productivity. Far too many Christians are fixated on watching the signs, rather than reacting to them.
Christians treat their obligations the way Colonel Harland Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame treated the ownership of stock in the company he founded. The smiling, white-haired southern gentleman pictured on every bucket of KFC was never a colonel, but he did know chicken. Sanders founded the most successful chicken restaurant in the world. One interesting thing about him is that he missed out on the financial gain that he could have enjoyed from the franchise’s success.
Col. Sanders didn’t understand the value of being a shareholder, so he never acquired any stocks in his own company. The only arrangement he made for the sale of KFC was to get a small, one-time payment and a $75,000 pension for life. Oddly enough, when KFC began trading in the 1960s, the colonel symbolically bought the first share of stock.
It didn’t take long for Sanders to realize his mistake. When KFC became willing to stray from his original recipe for gravy, he complained bitterly about the shift in quality. His grievances fell on deaf ears because he did not have ownership in the company.
Many Christians are following Harland Sanders' example by not investing in the Kingdom of God. They see all the indications of the last days drawing near, and yet they do nothing. Our eternal reward in heaven is not some lottery drawing. The Bible says our reward will be the result of the grand total of our life's work.
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
I firmly believe that investment in Rapture Ready is the best way to catch up on a life of neglect. This domain can reach more people in a single week than a person could spend in a lifetime of personal witnessing. The site is so well connected to the end-time subject, there will be a huge return for all contributors when, after the rapture, the world turns to prophetic sites for information. Put simply, I think supporting RR is one of the simplest ways to do the will of God.
A convenient way to contribute to Rapture Ready is through a regular donation. PayPal subscribers and people who have their banks send funds to our P.O. box are a vital part of our ministry. If you're interested in signing up, you can find the link on the Donation Depot page. Donations can also be sent to our P.O. box at:
Rapture Ready Min.
PO Box 185
Boys Town, Ne 68010
-- Todd
Russia, Syria, and Things To Come
Russia emerged from its post-Cold War Soviet hibernation this past week. Russia’s top general, Anatoly Nogovitsyn, warned that Poland is risking attack--possibly a nuclear one--by deploying the American missile defense system, Russia's Interfax news agency reported. The bear’s angry growling came amidst Russian military incursions into and occupation of the former Soviet republic of Georgia. The outburst, engendered by Russian
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, has the region and the world on edge, wondering what happens next.
One thing on the hungry bear’s agenda is to do business with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. That Russia will begin looking more and more toward the Middle East has been the subject of many of Todd’s and my Nearing Midnight columns. This is so, of course, because Russia, the land of “Rosh” as it is termed by the prophet Ezekiel in chapters 38 and 39, is predicted to lead an assault into that region in order to take great “spoil,” according to the KJV translation of the prophecy. So, prophecy students who look at things to come from a pre-trib view of eschatology haven’t been surprised by Vladimir Putin’s increasingly bellicose attitude that has resulted in his invading Georgia, and now turning his attention to a former key Soviet Union Cold War mideast Islamic ally.
Russia’s cuddling up with Syria presents profound prophetic possibilities, more about which we will look at momentarily.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gave journalists his thinking about the latest Russian/Syrian embrace–a closeness that his father, the late Hafez al-Assad had with the likes of Soviet dictators Kruschev, Brezhnev, Chernenko, Andropov, and even with Gorbachev before the USSR’s dissolution. One report frames Assad’s welcome to the Russian alliance overtures.
“The Syrian leader told Russian newspapers: ‘I think Russia really has to think of the response it will make when it finds itself closed in a circle.’
Mr. Assad said that he would be discussing the deployment of Russian missiles on his territory. The Syrians are also interested in buying Russian weapons.
In return Moscow is expected to propose a revival of its Cold War era naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus, which would give the Russian Navy its first foothold in the Mediterranean for two decades... Yesterday’s rapprochement raised the possibility that Moscow intends to re-create a global anti-Western alliance with former Soviet bloc allies" ("Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appears to be keeping his options open," Kevin O’Flynn in Moscow and James Hider, Middle East Correspondent, London Times, 8/20/22).
Many observers within Israel, the report says, have growing concerns that the two powers that once, in combination, wielded strength in the region surrounding the Jewish state will again try to exert their sphere of influence militarily and politically as in the days of the Cold War. They worry that America’s support of Georgia and placing the defensive missile shield in Poland will cause the Russians to use their alliance with Syria to try to assert dominance on an expanding scale.
And, the concerns go deeper.
“Already, Israeli observers worry that the chaos in the Caucasus may disrupt gas supplies to Europe and Turkey from the Caspian Sea region, creating a greater energy reliance on Iran and its vast reserves. The crisis could in turn allow Tehran to exploit splits in the international community and use Russia as a backer to advance its nuclear programme. Russia has wooed Syria in recent years, as it has tried to increase its influence in the Middle East and increase arms sales” (London Times).
Fears are growing of another Syrian-led attempt to retake the Golan Heights, which Israel won in the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel’s holding the Golan prevents any enemy force from using the area to easily rain fire down upon the nation’s heartland. Russia’s support, it is feared, might convince Assad and the other Israel-hating Arab Islamic enemies to make such a move.
Several prophecies come into play when considering the dynamics of current goings-on with regard to the Russian/Syrian reunion.
The Russians (Rosh), as stated above, are looking southward into the area Ezekiel calls “the mountains of Israel.” Remember, in God’s economy all of the region given Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is included in the “mountains of Israel," regardless of the geographical configuration of the tiny Jewish state as it exists today. The Gog-Magog attack of Ezekiel 38 and 39 still seems to be somewhat in the distance, but all of the stage-settings are in place that portend such an assault at some point.
And, we must not forget the chilling words of Isaiah 17:1 predicting that Damascus is scheduled prophetically to be destroyed swiftly and completely. With all of the major terrorist organizations headquarted in that city, that prophecy comes into sharp focus today.
The European Union (EU) at this particular time is acting like it is no more than a weak-kneed protectorate of the U.S, not wanting to face down the huffing and puffing bear. America is footing the bill and providing the technologies that are deterrents to the newly emerged Russian bear, fresh from its hibernation.
Bible prophecy foretells, we of the pre-trib view believe, that the EU, however, will become the powerful and murderous heart of Antichrist’s regime at a point during the tribulation period. More stage-setting is obviously in the making. Will there be an interim war between Israel and the Arab Islamics? Increasingly, this seems a question worth pondering while we think upon what is next on God’s prophetic timeline.
The Psalm 83 prophecy is one that must at least be offered for consideration in the mix of conjecture involving the stage-setting for prophecy yet future.
I’m still reading through the fascinating new book, Isralestine, by Bill Salus on this topic. Israel continues to be a powerful military force–by far the strongest in the region because of its nuclear capability. The Psalm 83 prophecy definitely points to a time yet future (meaning it has not yet been fulfilled) when Israel will defeat the specific Arab enemies it faces today. That prophecy indicates that Israel will win back in battle most, if not all, of the land God granted Israel’s patriarchs. And, as Salus points out, there are no Arab states mentioned that will join in the assault in the Gog-Magog attack.
So, the Russian/Syrian lovefest that seems in the making presents intriguing possibilities in consideration of what Bible prophecy has to say about things to come.
--Terry
