Satan the Ultimate Manipulator

The Bible lists many times where the devil has tried to challenge God’s will and has failed. It is interesting that there is no example where he shows any signs of frustration. He is like Wile E. Coyote. If Plan A fails, he immediately goes to Plan B, and then to Plan C.

The source of his tenacity stems from having a spiritual body that never tires or needs rest. Another fact is that Satan has a totally reprobate mind—incapable of realizing that he is no match for God.

This endless determination on the devil’s part is the explanation for why the world is becoming overrun be evil. When God lifts His hand of protection, Satan immediately fills the void.

Donald J. Trump’s presidency has now passed the 200-day mark. The liberal media have become absolutely fanatical in their efforts to continue to  undermine his administration. They talk about the impeachment process without having any evidence of a crime. You have the lunatic, Maxine Waters, talking about the impeachment of Mike Pence saying, “We’ll get him next.”

The appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Russia’s supposed election meddling—is obviously an old fashioned “witch hunt” designed to take down President Trump. Ironically, a similar effort to remove Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from office is under way. His political enemies have been using the Israeli justice system to find any bit of dirt on him.

Both these leaders have been under such intense scrutiny, I don’t see how it is possible for either one of them to do something that could be seen as a clear violation of the law. We have reached such a profound level of demonic madness, I think the punishable infractions will come whether they are real or imagined.

A strong indication that we are in uncharted territory has been demonstrated by the cable channel CNN. During the past few months, the reputation of this “news” organization has been pushed through the wood chipper because of its reckless negative reporting on the Trump Administration. When CNN tracked down the Reddit user behind the now famous Trump WWE video file, the person who posted it was forced to apologize. This MAFIA tactic triggered an eruption of rage on social media.

In any other time period for a network, upper management would have fired everyone who had disgraced the company’s brand name. In fact, it would have never been allowed to advance to this level. People would have been axed in mid-production of a news story.

The only goal at CNN is to destroy President Trump at any cost. The executives and reporters at CNN have as little concern over ratings as a kamikaze pilot cares about getting his airplane wings dented.

Just as Satan has an ability to motivate his forces, he can cause confusion and division in groups that should be working for good. The devil has done wonders in muddling the Republican Congressional leadership. Despite having a majority in both houses, and a Republican president in the White House—Capitol Hill is in complete gridlock.

Mitch McConnell has to be the most incompetent politician in American history; there is a “Ditch Mitch” movement that is trying to get him removed. When I read about his legislative  actions, it makes me wonder if he is a liberal mole:

McConnell helped pass the Wall Street bailout, increase taxes on 80% of American families, confirm Loretta Lynch, rescue the Export-Import Bank corporate welfare program, pass a bloated highway bill, and pass government spending bills that fully funded Planned Parenthood, Obamacare, sanctuary cities, and the reckless Iran nuclear deal.

And now he has broken his promise to repeal Obamacare “root and branch” and failed to pass even the skinniest repeal. Even worse, he continues to use his political machine to defend liberal Republicans in primary elections, making them far less likely to support conservative policies in the Senate.—ditchmitchnow.com

A growing number of Republicans seem to have lost their minds when it comes to being consistent in what issues they support. When John McCain voted down the Senate healthcare bill, people started questioning if his brain cancer was responsible for his “no” vote when previously he had said he would vote “yes.”

The core problem is spiritual in nature. The devil wants to win, and he is going to take advantage of every opportunity to wreak havoc in the world. I think the insanity is only going to get worse right up to the time of the Rapture, which tells us that time is short.

“Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (Revelation 12:12b).

–Todd

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Perilous Times in White House

I prefer to move on from writing about the enragement and turmoil within the American political milieu. Prophetic implications wrought by that process, however, keep imposing upon my inclination to move on. White House goings-on recently beg analysis in light of God’s prophetic Word, and I must dwell a bit longer in that arena.

The particular prophecy involved, I believe, is one we have looked at many times in overview fashion. I would like to focus on a peculiar area of that over all prophecy. I’m referencing Paul’s perilous times prophecy of 2 Timothy 3:1-5. The parts of this prophecy I would like to look at specifically  in regard to current White House intrigues are the following.

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be… trucebreakers,…traitors, heady, high-minded. (2 Timothy 3: 1-2, 3, 4)

The term “leakers” is at the top of the news. Attorney General of the United States Jeff Sessions, as we know, has put “leakers” on notice. They will be found, and if they have broken the law, they will be prosecuted.

Sessions pointed out recently that leaks are part of every government–and of every White House administration. With the Trump White House, though, the leaks far surpass the number, intensity, and possible harm to the nation than those of any previous administration of recent memory.

“Leaks,” of course, is information divulged by those within positions of knowledge of things being discussed, planned, and implemented within government. Here, we are talking specifically about leaks within the White House. They are being done, it is generally acknowledged, to do harm to Donald J. Trump’s presidency.

This presidency is under unparalleled attack from every quarter. It is particularly the news media that has been the recipient of these leaks. The leaks are used by those extremely antagonistic to the Trump presidency to try to bring public opinion of this president  to as low a point as possible–thus to see to it that 1) he is so ineffectual as to not get his agenda accomplished; 2) he is impeached; or 3) that he will be voted out of office next presidential election.

The assault is unrelenting and more ferocious than any I have witnessed during my now 75 years on the scene. The voraciousness of many of those who hate this president is so virulent that those carrying out the “silent coup-d’état,” as it is called by some, totally cast aside any thought of the damage it is doing to national security. They apparently couldn’t care less that they are exposing things that should be kept secret for security purposes to enemies who wish us only destruction. It means nothing to these leakers that they have taken an oath to guard carefully such essential secrets. They are “trucebreakers” in the parlance of the apostle Paul’s prophecy.

A report/analysis from one source not friendly to this president says the following:

Government employees are growing increasingly willing to criticize or defy the White House and President Trump’s top appointees…

 The growing opposition in the executive branch comes as the White House’s legislative agenda has stalled in Congress and Trump turns to his Cabinet agencies to change course in several policy areas. It also is emanating from career staffers or political holdovers whose resistance to Trump has, at times, been rooted in deep opposition to the president’s agenda…

 Trump’s allies have often cast the president as the victim of the “deep state,” an entrenched liberal bureaucracy bent on damaging his agenda through leaks and resistance.

 They argue the deep state extends from agencies such as the EPA, where employees could be angered with Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate deal, to career service intelligence agency staff who leak damaging information about the president.

 Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on Friday even accused special counsel Robert Mueller, the former FBI director now investigating Russia’s involvement in last year’s election, as representing the “deep state at its worse.” (“Federal employees step up defiance of Trump,” By Devin Henry, www.thehill.com, 08/05/17)

 The report, while couched in terms intended in my view to make those of us who understand the assault underway seem paranoid, the assertion within the above report is nonetheless true. There is a deep state–which includes mainstream media, entrenched government bureaucrats, and globalist elitists.

As an observer of Bible prophecy, laying that Holy template over the issues and events of our times, I go further. It is an assault directed and fueled by none other than the grand deceiver of all–Lucifer the fallen one.

The apostle Paul prophesied that there will come a time when people will be observably traitorous–like those leakers within the Trump administration. They will be heady–meaning they will demand their own way no matter who is hurt or destroyed. They will be high-minded–meaning they will consider themselves the sole determiners of what is best for everybody else. They will, like in the case of climate change/global warming types like Al Gore, say: “Do what I say, not what I do.” (Gore, it was reported a week or so ago, has a home that uses 21 times more electricity than the average home. He dispenses a huge carbon emissions footprint as he jets about the world in his private jets.) This, in my analysis, the epitome of headiness and high-mindedness.

Paul’s perilous times are upon us, to be sure.

–Terry

August to October Donation Drive

For nearly 30 years, Rapture Ready has been an online resource for end-times information. I started the site in September of 1987, while I was an airman stationed at Offutt Air Force Base. My first computer was an Apple II clone made by Franklin Computer Corp. It became my method of sharing prophetic-related news and the gospel message.

The changes in technology have been spectacular; the changes in the field of Bible prophecy have been equally stunning. In the early days I could go on a month long military deployment, and come back home without anyone noticing my absence from the Internet. Today, I have to check something related to the site a dozen times a day.

In the late 80s, there were times when prophetic activity was stagnant, but there was always something important enough related to prophecy to mention. In 2017, there is a strange sense that the Tribulation hour is about to begin.

I have my own special indication of how close we are to the last days. A couple weeks ago, I wrote an article that questioned the possibility of Pope Francis being the False Prophet. If I had written that same article 20 years ago about Pope John II, Rapture Ready would have received a flood of angry emails. I did not receive a single complaint about Francis, and I knew that would be the case when I wrote the article from two key reasons.

The first reason is because Francis perfectly matches the character of the False Prophet, which leaves no room to debate many of his universalism statements. And second, the polarization of religious views. Because there is no middle ground in faith today, liberal Catholics would not likely visit this type of site. The few conservative Catholics that visit RR, would agree with our observations about the Pope’s apostate doctrine.

An important ongoing task for RR is the continued work of updating the site. Our design team works daily on updating our Web presence. It has been 14 months since they started to make the necessary changes. They have transferred nearly 10,000 articles to the new WordPress format. If anyone has any ideas for improving the site, don’t be shy about sending me your suggestions.

I’ve added a new Prayer Center page to the Rapture Ready most active pages. The devil has become so powerful in the news media, academic and political realms, I think prayer has become the only way to influence world events.

We are still locked in a massive struggle to keep Rapture Ready from being overwhelmed by censorship. The technology firms that have appointed themselves as gatekeepers to the Internet are doing everything they can to block Christian and conservative sites. This bias against true believers has forced us to spend large amounts of time and money to keep our heads above water. The more determined they are to drown us in a sea of data, the more convinced I am to keep paddling against the deluge of hate.

In order to keep the end-time data flowing, the site needs your financial support. One of the blessed things I hope for our donors is a point in time when checks sent to RR will no longer be deposited. Your checks will be in the mail, but we will be in the air.

We have three ways you can contribute to Rapture Ready and enable our efforts to expand our reach. You can help us keep getting our message out by sending a financial gift via our postal address; you can make a one-time donation by a credit card, or you can sign-up to make monthly donations via PayPal. More information can be found on our Donation page.

Rapture Ready’s P.O. box address:

Rapture Ready
P.O. Box 969
Benton, AR 72018

–Todd

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Mr. President–Cursing or Blessing?

There continues to be much turbulence stirred within the American government and America in general. I’ve written a number of times here that I believe God Himself intervened in the 2016 presidential election. He, I’m convinced, answered the prayers of the people called by His name–Christians. He turned the American ship of state around–or at least began that process of steering in a better direction.

Donald J. Trump, a man who was and continues to be far from a godly man, in my view, was nonetheless chosen by the Almighty to head the project to at least slow if not completely halt globalism’s takeover of the United States.

Globalism, I believe, is the conveyance Satan intends to use to take America down the pathway to the eventual installation of his man of sin, Antichrist. That intention has been greatly slowed with the election of Mr. Trump, and the fallen one isn’t happy. The uproar amongst his many minions, both demonic and human, is witness that gives testimony to Lucifer’s enragement.

Donald Trump is God’s man of the hour, even though not a godly man. In that regard, I support God’s decision totally, as anyone who reads these commentaries knows. I continue to believe that if the other candidate had won the election, the effects, especially for those of us who value American ideals as founded and who believe that God’s Word, the Bible, is truth, would have been terrible.

One day, perhaps soon, the U.S. and the world will experience those feared results of losing such elections. For now, however, there is a Heaven-sent reprieve and we must support godliness and a movement back  toward God’s way, rather than continue on the path to destruction.

This is why I–we as Christians–must call out ungodliness when it pops up its ugly head, no matter where it does so.

That brings me to the title of this article “Mr. President–Cursing or Blessing?”

The turbulence I mentioned at the outset was full-blown in the White House the week of July 14. It was no doubt stirred and fanned by the breath of the old serpent, the devil. The winds of inter-White House turf war continued this week just past.

President Trump, always one to keep the mainstream media–and the rest of us as well–off-balance with his actions and tweets, did so in his own inimitable fashion. He removed his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and replaced him with Ret. General John Kelly. But, it wasn’t that cut and dried.

Mixed in with the shake-up of White House staff was the matter of the desire–the absolute necessity, in my view–to get rid of the so-called leakers. These holdover personnel from the previous administration were wreaking havoc on the president’s efforts to move forward with his agenda.

Sean Spicer, the communications director was also let go. In his place came one Anthony Scaramucci. We know now that this mouthpiece seems to have no boundaries on usage of language. And that is what inspired this commentary.

Mr. Scaramucci, chosen by the president to clean out the leakers, began his new job by talking with a reporter of The New Yorker–the hip New York City magazine that looks down on the rest of us as most generally just not with it.

The  president’s new man in the communication director’s seat indeed began to communicate. He did so in a cursing rant he thought was, but in actuality was not, “off the record.” It was so bad that it apparently caused Chris Wallace of Fox News to blush when he read it.

Wallace said, “I’m no choirboy, but his [Scaramucci’s] language took even me aback.”

It was anger, framed in sewer language, whether real or feigned for impact, that to this point we hadn’t had a close associate of a sitting president use. I’m no choirboy, either, having grown up amongst my male peers as a youngster in junior high school, high school, university, and even the U.S. military. The report of Scaramucci’s  vulgar tirade made me feel uneasy. I don’t like one so closely associated with my president using such ungodly language. It somehow dirties–sullies the office.

Of course, I realize that this president sometimes uses less than godly language himself. I don’t like that, either. This I say for those of you who were about to ask “Well, how about Trump’s language?”

When I first heard the report of Anthony Scaramucci spewing forth as he did, my mind began searching for words I once heard reported as spoken by our first president on use of vile language.

I soon found the quote. It was George Washington, then the head general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, issuing a written command. That command said the following:

The General is sorry to be informed —, that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing, a vice heretofore little known in an American army, is growing into a fashion; — he hopes the officers will, by example as well as influence, endeavor to check it, and that both they and the men will reflect that we can have little hope of the blessing of Heaven on our arms, if we insult it by impiety and folly; added to this, it is a vice so mean and low, without any temptation, that every man of sense and character detests and despises it.  (Source: George Washington, Extract from the Orderly Book of the army under command of Washington, dated at Head Quarters, in the city of New York [3 August 1770]; reported in American Masonic Register and Literary Companion, Volume 1 [1829])

We have, of course, become a profane nation in ways that would make our first president wonder, no doubt, how the Lord of Heaven could let us proceed farther as a country. As much as I back Donald J. Trump and his much-beleaguered presidency, I must ask the question: Mr. President–cursing or blessing?

How can we expect the continued blessings of the Almighty when we allow such cesspool thinking and expression as Mr. Scaramucci used, representing a president of the United States, therefore representing us?

Anthony Scaramucci might be a tough, New York guy who uses street language to get things done. He did not have the right to use such while in an office that represents the rest of us, many of whom still prefer a more godly means of expression.

It is good that another general of excellent reputation, General John Kelly, evidently, according to reports, feels the same way. Scaramucci’s vulgar tirade to the New Yorker, in concert with his demand to be allowed to bypass the new chief of staff, General Kelly, was asked to leave the communications position he had occupied for only ten days.

Wise decision, Mr. President. Please consider the following in regard to your own language.

God’s Word says the following in use of language for the Christian–a tremendous number of those who voted for you:

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. (Ephesians 4: 29)

Even more to the point, James put it this way:

But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. (James 4: 8-15)

–Terry