God’s Glorious Plan :: By Daymond Duck

On Oct. 19, 2023, Israel Today posted an article by Charles Gardner (author, founder of Christian Publications International, former correspondent, former reporter, etc.) that says,
“Tyrants have tried to destroy the Jews before and suggests that the Hamas killing rampage is “a sure sign that God has a glorious plan in mind which the enemy (Satan) is determined to prevent.”

I think Garder is right, and here is my understanding of what he wrote:

>In Egypt, Pharaoh’s order to midwives attending women giving birth to cast Hebrew male babies into a river was an effort by Satan to prevent the first coming of Jesus by destroying the line of people that would lead to Jesus’ birth (Ex. 1:1-22). But God protected a male baby called Moses who eventually led the Jewish people out of slavery. They went to the Promised Land and established the nation of Israel.

>In the Promised Land, Herod the Great was visited by wise men seeking the newborn King of the Jews; Satan influenced Herod to order the death of all the babies in Bethlehem from two years old and younger (Matt. 1:1-2:23). But God protected Jesus. He eventually died on a cross to defeat Satan, redeem a people for His name (including many Jews), and come a second time to rule over His Creation.

>In Germany, after the Romans had destroyed Israel and scattered the Jews all over the world, Satan influenced Hitler to wipe out all the Jews there (men, women, and babies) and establish a world government. But God raised up opposition forces, defeated Hitler, and used the killings to create sympathy for the Jews that allowed the nation of Israel to come back into being.

>In Gaza, Satan influenced Hamas to find ways to enter Israel, kill Jews (men, women, and children), and try to stop the Second Coming of Jesus. But God has always acted when tyrants have tried to destroy all the Jewish people, and this gives us reason to believe that He will soon move forward with the next phase of His glorious plan.

So, be encouraged and expect to see another major fulfillment in Bible prophecy soon.

Here is a link to Gardner’s article:
https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/the-dragons-fury/

(FYI: On Oct. 19, 2023, many Jews gathered at the wailing wall to pray for the hostages and the success of the Israeli military. I encourage Christians in other countries to pray for the hostages and protection for their troops.)

(Incidentally: On Oct. 24, 2023, Michael Synder asked, “Is it just a coincidence that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—white, red, black, green—are the same as the four colors on the Palestinian flag—white, red, black, green; Rev. 6:1-8?)

Here are some recent stories that could mean we are getting close to major events:

One, concerning a seven-year covenant with many (worthless peace treaty): on Oct. 25, 2023, Pres. Biden said, “It (the Hamas attack on Israel) means that when this crisis is over, there has to be a vision of what comes next …. It means a concentrated effort for all the parties, Israelis, Palestinians, regional partners, global leaders, to put us on a path toward peace.”

(Note: This war may produce that covenant, and it may not, but it is interesting that Biden is already talking to many about a path toward peace.)

(My opinion: On Oct. 25, 2023, Israel released a video of Palestinian Pres. Mahmoud Abbas and several other leaders expressing support for Hamas, calling them heroes, etc. It would be foolish for Israel to cede more of the Promised Land to people who think that those who behead Jewish babies, rape Jewish women and children, etc., are heroes. Israel should view those things as a warning from Jehovah.)

Two, leaders from Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (terrorist groups on Israel’s border that are funded by Iran) met to conspire against Israel (sounds like Psa. 83:3-5).

Three, concerning wars and rumors of wars: on Oct. 25, 2023, Pres. Biden sent a direct message to the Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran, saying if Iranian forces continue to move against U.S. troops in the Middle East, the U.S. will respond, and he should be prepared.

Biden added, “It has nothing to do with Israel.”

(More: On Oct. 26, 2023, U.S. planes struck Iranian targets in eastern Syria.)

Four, concerning the Battle of Gog and Magog: on Oct. 26, 2023, it was reported that groups from Iran and Hamas have traveled to Russia to discuss ways to stop Israel’s attacks on Hamas and win an all-out war against Israel.

Russia and Iran continue to support each other.

Iran is helping Russia in her war against Ukraine, and Russia is helping Iran in her war against Israel (effort to destroy Israel).

In addition to this, Turkey’s Pres. Erdogan is calling Hamas “Holy Warriors.”

(More: On Oct. 30, 2023, it was reported that a former speechwriter for Vladimir Putin said, “Russia is quickly turning into another Iran proxy just like Hamas and Hezbollah.” He added, “I think Putin no longer cares for Netanyahu. Now he has taken this pro-Palestine stance on the conflict; any Israeli government is an enemy for Putin.”

(My opinion: It is probably a little early to be dogmatic, but the latter years and latter days Battle of Gog and Magog appears to be shaping up.)

Five, concerning wars and rumors of wars, despite Israel delaying its all-out invasion of northern Gaza: on Oct. 26, 2023, an undisclosed number of Israeli troops and tanks entered Gaza and destroyed several Hamas targets to “prepare the battlefield” for a decisive war.

Israel is also striking targets in Syria and Lebanon on a near-daily basis.
Here are some of the daily reports:

Friday, Oct. 27, 2023

>Israeli troops and tanks entered Gaza for the second consecutive night. According to the IDF, they destroyed dozens of terrorist targets, some on the outskirts of Gaza City, and killed many terrorists.

>Israel’s UN Ambassador told the UN Gen. Assembly, “Any call for a ceasefire is not an attempt at peace. It is an attempt to tie Israel’s hands, preventing us from eliminating a huge threat to our citizens.” He added that Israel “is not at war with the Palestinians. Israel is at war with the genocidal Jihadist Hamas terror organization. Hamas’s genocidal ideology, just like ISIS, al-Qaeda… is not just about destroying Israel. It is ultimately about world domination.”

Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023

>Israeli jets struck sights all over the Gaza Strip; the military warned citizens in the northern part of the strip to move south as soon as possible, Israel announced that it was expanding its operations, thousands of troops and tanks have entered Gaza, the U.S. said the ground invasion has started, but it will occur in phases instead of being one single invasion.

>Israel said they destroyed 150 underground targets. Israel also gave the Palestinians one last warning to leave the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

>Turkey’s Pres. Erdogan threatened to attack Israel and send his military to Gaza (sounds like the Battle of Gog and Magog).

Monday, Oct. 30, 2023

>Author and prophecy teacher Michael Snyder said Netanyahu has “rejected a ceasefire”; it looks like Israel’s troops are trying to “encircle Gaza City”; “Hamas is not strong enough to stop them”; “they are completely and utterly doomed unless they get help.”

Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023

>Israeli troops have started fighting Hamas inside the tunnels.

>Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis launched several missiles and drones toward Israel and declared war on the Jewish nation. The missiles and drones were intercepted outside Israeli territory, and now people are asking, “Will Israel strike back?”

>UN Sec. Gen. Guterres said he is deeply alarmed by the intensifying conflict and appealed for the divided UN Security Council to act.

>Israel struck a building in northern Gaza where several Hamas terrorists were holed up, and a tunnel under the building collapsed. This led to several other tunnels in the area collapsing, several buildings falling, the death of 50 people, and injury of about 150.

>Israel is moving slowly into Gaza to protect her troops from booby traps and ambushes and to reduce civilian casualties.

>Hezbollah has not launched a full-scale attack on Israel because they want to avoid the destruction of Lebanon.

Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023

>Iran signaled that it does not want a regional war (Note: This is interesting because Russia, Iran, Turkey, and others won’t attack Israel at their discretion. They will attack Israel when God drags them onto the mountains of Israel).

>A Hamas official said, “We will repeat the Oct. 7 attack time and again until Israel is annihilated.” (Note: The only way for Israel to prevent this from happening again is to thoroughly defeat them.)

Six, concerning world government: in a video released on Oct. 26, 2023, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization (WHO), urged nations to quickly ratify WHO amendments to the Pandemic Accords and the International Health Regulations (IHRs) with accountable implementation.

If the nations ratify these documents, many experts say the nations will lose their sovereignty during a declared emergency, and the WHO will control the healthcare of everyone on earth (order face masks, vaccinations, and more).

The WHO will be authorized to decide what is a pandemic, when it begins, when it ends, penalize nations that do not obey, and retain its global power for as long as it wants.

Seven, concerning inflation, famine, and a global economic collapse: on Oct. 30, 2023, a World Bank report said Israel’s war with Hamas will have little impact on world oil prices if the war does not worsen, but if it gets worse, oil prices could soar, and that would drive the price of everything up (food, fuel, etc.).

FYI: God does not send anyone to Hell (all of us are born with a sin nature and destined to go to Hell because we sin), but God has provided a way (Jesus) for everyone to go to Heaven (and He is the only way to get there; John 14:6).

Finally, are you Rapture Ready?

If you want to be rapture ready and go to heaven, you must be born again (John 3:3). God loves you, and if you have not done so, sincerely admit that you are a sinner; believe that Jesus is the virgin-born, sinless Son of God who died for the sins of the world, was buried, and raised from the dead; ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you, come into your heart and be your Saviour; then tell someone that you have done this.

duck_daymond@yahoo.com

Peace Amid Turmoil :: By Nathele Graham

Life can be filled with turmoil. It’s been said that you’re either just entering a crisis, in the middle of a crisis, or just coming out of a crisis. That sounds a little pessimistic, but we do see much trouble all around us. Jesus said that there would be tribulation in life, but Christians have hope.

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

If you are a person with no turmoil, you are most likely a hermit living far away from modern society. Still, you have troubles. Does the roof leak when it rains? Do you have enough food stored for the winter? Do the wild animals see you as a food source? There is always something to cause us turmoil. The way we handle the turmoil depends upon our relationship with God.

My mother was a very gentle lady who tried to live in a way that reflected Christ. I called her a “people magnet” because people were drawn to her, whether she knew them or not. She was a good listener and always had the right words to say to encourage others. It would seem that such a gentle person would have an easy life. Not so. The troubles she faced were major, but her faith in God was unshakable.

I wish I could tell you that I, her daughter, made her life easier, but too often, I was the cause of her troubles. As I watched Mama deal with her problems, I saw she had a peace about her that was not from a human source but from the Holy Spirit living in her. She had many favorite hymns, and one of them was titled “‘Mid all the Traffic of the Ways” by John Oxenham. My mother hummed this song, and it helped to get her through some very difficult times. I find myself humming it quite often in these troubled times.

‘Mid all the traffic of the ways,
Turmoils without, within,
Make in my heart a quiet place,
And come and dwell within;

I’m not a person who deals well with city life. The traffic and noise are things that cause me distress. I prefer the peace and quiet of life in the country. Watching a deer graze in my front yard or seeing raccoons visiting my front porch looking to steal my cat’s food brings peace into my life. I enjoy listening to the frogs singing in the pond in my neighbor’s field and hearing the cattle calling to each other at night. I know this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but even here, among the beauty of nature, there are troubles. My house needs some repairs, my dog really needs to learn obedience, I have too many cats, and the chickens don’t always lay eggs like I want them to. Those troubles may be pretty minimal compared to the horrors happening in Israel or the gang wars in cities. No matter what the trial and turmoil, peace is to be found in Jesus.

We have many examples in Scripture of people facing troublesome situations, but God always gives peace and confidence amid the turmoil if we turn to Him.

Paul is a good example of finding peace in every situation. Paul was persecuted for sharing his faith and often went hungry, but he wasn’t bitter. He lived for Christ, not for himself. Quite often, he was thrown in jail because of his faith, but he used every opportunity to share his faith with others. One account that stands out in my mind is the time he was in Philippi and did what he thought was a good thing. There was a woman who was possessed by a demon, and Paul cast that evil entity out of her. That act of God’s love was met with anger from her handlers. The men who used the woman to make money from the demon that possessed her had Paul and Silas arrested. In those days, there was a different kind of justice than most of us understand today. The magistrates immediately inflicted judgment.

“And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: who having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks” (Acts 16:23-24).

The pain must have been awful, and not knowing what tomorrow would bring could have caused Paul and Silas to be angry with God, caused depression, and turned them away from their faith. Instead, they found a quiet place of peace, even in that prison.

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them” (Acts 16:25).

They shared their faith by praising God in a time of turmoil. Then, there was an earthquake, and the prison was opened, and the chains came off the prisoners. They could have escaped, but they all chose to stay. The jailor would have been forced to fulfill the sentences of all who escaped, and he decided on suicide, which is never a good choice. Because Paul and Silas found a place of peace among the trouble, no prisoner escaped, and the jailer was spared. The jailer understood that Paul and Silas had peace, which came from their faith, and asked them what he must do to be saved.

“And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31).

Have you found God’s peace in troublesome situations? Have you been able to share your faith and help others find the peace that only comes from God? Be an instrument of God’s love rather than the hate that Satan brings to the world.

A little shrine of quietness,
All sacred to thyself,
Where thou shalt all my soul possess,
And I may find myself;

Too often, we forget that when we first believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is sealed within us. The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Holy Trinity and is God. He will guide you through the troublesome times if you allow it. Remember that He knows your thoughts and hears every word you say. Do the words of your mouth honor God? Do the actions of your hands show God’s love to others, even those who offend you? Find that place of quietness where God lives in you and find His peace.

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16).

The Holy Spirit will guide you in God’s ways. The closer we draw to God, the greater peace we will find. When Paul left Philippi, he had established a congregation of believers and had many friends there. He kept in touch with every congregation he established, and in his letter to the Philippians, he closed by encouraging them to find peace.

“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7).

True peace is only found in Christ.
A little shelter from life’s stress,
Where I may lay me prone,
And bare my soul in loneliness,
And know as I am known;

Do you have stress? Bills to pay, kids to shuttle from one activity to another? Appointments to keep? All of that between holding a job and finding some “me” time. It’s not always easy. One thing that most people shuffle to the “last resort” or forget altogether is prayer. Not only talking with God about your needs but praising Him in everything. A time set aside when you can lay everything out to Him and listen for His answer. A time when it’s just you and God, with no distractions, no interruptions, and just honestly talking with Him.

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have a need for time alone with God. Health issues are a common worry as well as a financial strain. God cares about these things, but He also wants to hear your praise for that promotion you were hoping for or the good grade on an important exam at school. He knows you, and you matter to Him. Even if you feel as if nobody around you cares about you or your problems, God is there to lead and encourage you every day.

King David had his share of troubles; some were caused by David himself, but most were everyday problems of a king who loved the Lord and who loved the nation he led. Whatever David faced, he faced it with God.

“[[To the chief Musician upon Neginah, A Psalm of David]] Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah” (Psalm 61:1-4).

David found peace amid turmoil because he loved the Lord and found God’s peace no matter what situation he faced.

A little place of mystic grace,
Of self and sin swept bare,
Where I may look upon thy face,
And talk with thee in prayer.

Grace is a gift from God, and oftentimes, we think we deserve His grace and mercy. God’s grace is a gift that we can’t earn but only comes by faith.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” (Ephesians 2:8).

When we forget our own selfishness, we can be better able to approach God humbly and with thanksgiving. When we move past our own self-centered feelings, God can speak clearer to us. It’s easy to see life and troubles from our own point of view, but by sweeping our selfish desires and sin out of the way, we can then have an honest talk with God and hear His words. Admit your sin and ask to be forgiven, even if you feel justified in committing the sin. Find the peace God wants for you in spite of the hustle and bustle of daily life.

When you let Jesus come into every part of your life, you will find peace amid the turmoil.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com
www.prophecyupdate.com
www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

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“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).