March 9
My Messenger Has Been Sent
In August of 2006, my mother suffered a heart attack that signaled her life on earth was about to end. She was taken to the hospital, and we were told by several doctors that she only had a few more weeks to live. None of us could have possibly imagined that we were about to embark on a bizarre journey that would last a year and a half.
My mother was in and out of intensive care so many times I’ve lost track of the number. When she was not in the hospital, she was bedridden at a nursing home facility in Elkhorn, Nebraska.
We had at least four “this is it” family gatherings. The call would be made to family members living in Northwest Iowa to come on down to see Mother for the last time. But strangely enough, each time she would seem be headed for the pearly gates, there would be a U-turn at the last minute.
For the past several months, her health seemed to stabilize. With kidney failure, diabetes, a bad heart, and poor blood circulation, there was no escaping the fact that her passing could come at any moment.
A few months ago, I was talking with Mom about her eventual departure. Because we both knew she was soon going to meet the Creator of the universe, we concluded there was a special opportunity for her to convey a special message. We agreed that when she met the Lord, she would ask Him to bless Rapture Ready.
It’s not that God would say, “Bless Rapture Ready? What’s that?” There is nothing that He is not aware of. However, I believe it expresses a special level of determination to have God’s divine guidance that we would send someone in "person" to appeal for the continued blessing on this site. From day one, I’ve credited the Lord for all of RR’s success.
My mother was thrilled to be given such an assignment. She understood the importance of seeking after God’s grace, and knew she would see her Savior very soon.
This past Wednesday, my messenger left this world to carry out her mission. A few days before she lapsed into coma, I grabbed my mother’s hand and told her, ”As firmly as I’m holding your hand, I want you to hold Jesus’ hand until you’re on the other side.”
There are two important statistics to note:
1. Each month about 160,000 people visit Rapture Ready.
2. Every year, the mortality rate claims around 1 percent of the population.
Internet usage by the elderly is somewhat lower than that of the general population, but it still means that hundreds of you people who are reading this right now will not be here the same time next year.
For you folks who become part of the mortality figures in the coming days, I commission you with the same task: When you meet the King of Kings, please ask Him to pour His grace and guidance on this web ministry.
You unsaved folks who happen to be reading this article and think it is total nonsense, you are pure gold to this cause. Once you meet your unfortunate end, you’ll cry out 10 times louder from bowels of hell than a saved person who might be distracted by the glories of heaven.
For the 99 percent of you who will wait on the rapture--for at least the next year--I ask you to also solicit God in prayer for His blessing on RR. The one good thing about death is that it reminds us that nothing is more important in life than promoting a cause that advances the gospel message.
I’m just stunned at all the prophetic activity we see in the news today. I don’t have any overwhelming sadness for Mother parting, because I know a reunion will be short in coming.
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words" (1 Thess. 4:16-18).
-- Todd
Bait on Gog’s “Hooks” Preparing?
Middle-Eastern oil reserves look increasingly to be the chief bait for the “hooks” that will draw the Gog coalition force toward Jerusalem. The Scripture is coming more into focus almost daily, so far as its likely meaning.
“And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords…” (Ezek. 38:1-4).
Global economy intricacies are far too convoluted–too complex—to make the leap of speculation that petroleum alone will bring all people to the Valley of Jezreel for Armageddon. The same applies to the Gog-Magog assault outlined in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39. However, all evidence that continues to mount points to Mid-East oil as a primary factor in building toward war in that already volatile part of the world.
We can see oil’s influence in the thinking of the major players in oil production and pricing, with this excerpted story:
“OPEC on Wednesday rebuffed calls from President Bush to increase oil output, instead citing 'mismanagement' of the American economy as a major factor driving
prices up.
Record prices are suddenly creating the sharpest tensions in years between the oil cartel and the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer. Two days after the president called for more oil on the global market, OPEC members, meeting in Vienna, chose to leave their production levels unchanged, declaring that the market has plenty of oil already" (New York Times, March 6, 2008, President Fails to Budge OPEC on Production, By Jad Mouawad).
Taking into consideration the New York Times' consistent stance against the Bush Administration in almost every political issue, and recognizing that we are in the intensity of a political season in which the Times, as usual, wants to position the president’s party in bad political light, the point of the article cannot be dismissed.
The root of all evil–love of money—can be blamed in part for the lowered opinion of America in dealing with matters vital to oil supply and demand. The blame must be placed on all parties, not just upon the American administration. The oil cartel sheiks quickly turn their favorable opinions away from American dollars and toward the euro and other currencies as the U.S. prime means of exchange continues to weaken. Like in so-called friendships in all walks of life, the friendship too often ends when there’s nothing in it for one party or the other. As a line in one Tom T. Hall song goes, “Friends are hard to find, when they discover that you’re down.” Cynical, but true.
America is down, in terms of the dollar’s buying power. The fact is reflected in our former “friends'” change of mind as reported in the article.
“The cartel’s president blamed financial speculators and American economic problems, which have helped lower the value of the dollar, for the high oil prices. After the meeting, oil prices settled above $104 a barrel, a record…” (New York Times).
America’s power to influence the world ‘s economic trends is still considerable. But, that influence is swiftly lessening. The question of the greatest concern to those who watch these developments from the biblically prophetic perspective is whether future American leaders will continue to be Israel’s chief friend.
Israel’s enemies hold the oil card. How long will the once-mighty dollar continue to buy influence with the cartel “friends,” most of whom want every Jew removed from the Middle East? Will America drop Israel as a friend, to better position the U.S. within the world users of petroleum, which–we are told—is a diminishing resource?
We will keep watch on these things as this generation moves nearer to the time when God himself will put the “hooks” in Gog’s jaw. Since it is perhaps likely that the rapture will occur before the Gog invasion into the Middle East, observing these developments are even more crucial.
--Terry
