God’s Mysterious Ways :: By Nathele Graham

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles, Nathele Graham

God is amazing. There’s no doubt about it. The reason humans get confused about creation and salvation is that we try to put God’s ways on an equal footing with human ways. That just can’t happen. God’s ways are far above our ways.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9).

It always amazes me when mere humans try to explain things that are from God in human terms. For instance, God clearly states that He created everything. When people tried to figure out how God created everything, they came up with the theory of evolution. That’s unbelievable, but the truth of a loving God who spoke all things into being requires accountability for sin. Satan has always been opposed to God, and his goal is to deceive people. He has not totally succeeded, but it’s so important for Christians to stand firm on God’s truth. We cannot fully understand God’s ways, but that doesn’t mean that Satan’s lies should be accepted.

This time of year, there seems to be a battle. People once sang songs like Silent Night and Hark the Herald Angels Sing in schools and on street corners, but today we’re ashamed to say Merry Christmas, and Satan is running amok. Are you ashamed of God?

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation for every one that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). 

Why is it acceptable to sing about Santa Claus and convince our children that he zips around the world on Christmas Eve and gives gifts to good children, but we cannot teach them about Jesus Christ and God’s love? Parents are sad when little Johnny or little Sue start to question Santa’s existence and try hard to keep the children believing in a myth, but aren’t concerned whether or not they believe the truth.

Jesus Christ was born to bring salvation to all who believe. Of course, public schools perpetuate the tall tale of evolution, so children are fully inundated with lies. It would be a much better life for everybody if we weren’t ashamed of teaching our children truth.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).

That’s truth. Shouldn’t we be more concerned that our children know that? Yes, we should. God loves His creation and gave us the greatest gift of all. He won’t force anyone to accept His free gift of salvation, but you will regret it for eternity if you choose to reject the greatest gift ever given.

When Jesus was born, it was at a time of great persecution for God’s chosen people. The Romans were ruling at the time, and the Jewish people were very oppressed. The prophets of God from ancient times had prophesied a Messiah who would redeem Israel. One of the oldest proclamations of this fact is found in Job.

“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” (Job 19:25).

Job had suffered much from Satanic attacks, but his faith in God was unshakable. Job believed God’s truth and would have scoffed at Santa Claus. Don’t think it was simpler back then. There were pagan religions with lots of idol worship, but Job chose to believe the truth. He also did all that he could to teach his children God’s truth. It was up to them to choose faith in God for themselves, but he was an example to them. Did they believe that Hercules flew around on Pegasus to deliver gifts? Probably not, but I’m sure if they did, it wasn’t because Job taught them a lie.

There were many prophecies about the coming Messiah, and the Jewish people were desperate for Him to rescue them from the evil King Herod and the Roman soldiers who were instruments of Satan. They were sure this promised Messiah would be a mighty man of war. What they didn’t expect was a baby born in a manger. Had they paid attention to what God said, rather than what they decided He meant, they would have seen that God’s ways are mysterious and higher than ours.

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). 

Matthew understood and referred to it in his account of Mary being pregnant while still a virgin (see Matthew 1:23). He will return one day as the mighty Warrior and fight for His chosen people. That will happen after the Rapture and after the Great Tribulation. God says it will happen, so believe Him and His mysterious ways.

What is God’s truth about Christmas?

Joseph, Mary’s espoused husband, didn’t understand how she had become pregnant. He knew he wasn’t the father, and to his understanding, she had to have been with another man. God sent Gabriel to explain it to Him. Mary was pregnant with the Son of God. Joseph would be the adoptive father on Earth, which would give Jesus a legitimate claim to the throne of David.

Joseph traced his lineage to King David through King Solomon, while Mary’s lineage came from King David through another son, Nathan. Through Mary, Jesus was fully human, which qualifies Him to be a kinsman of all humanity. Because His father was God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ blood was pure and untainted by sin that affects all of mankind. This qualified Him to redeem us from our sin.

The Jewish people were looking for a man to save them from the Roman governors, but God’s plan was the redemption of Gentiles also. Belief is the key to salvation through Jesus, and even Roman soldiers could be saved by faith. It’s not clear to our human minds how this all works, but it’s a fact that must be accepted. Many years later, Jesus told His disciples that He was going away, and they were confused about where He was going and how they could follow.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6).

So, if you think you’re good enough or think Jesus was just a nice person, then you need to know the true Jesus. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is Messiah, He is our Saviour, He is the only way to live eternally in Heaven.

When Nicodemus came to Jesus to ask questions, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

You must believe that Jesus is God incarnate. This is God’s mysterious ways, but His ways are perfect.

Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth, but according to the prophet Micah, the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. “But thou Bethlehem Ephratah though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).

God worked it all out. Bethlehem was where King David was born and lived. In the Old Testament, “City of David” refers to Jerusalem, but in the New Testament, it refers to Bethlehem. Either way, God gave all of the land to Israel. Bethlehem is about 6 miles south of Jerusalem. Remember, God’s ways aren’t our ways, but His ways are perfect.

“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed” (Luke 2:1).

God can use anybody to fulfill His ways, and in this case, it was the pagan tyrant Caesar Augustus. This decree meant that all citizens had to return to “his own city.” Joseph, being of the line of David, had to go to Bethlehem. Mary was very pregnant, but she had to go with him. To human thinking, it would seem that God would have made His Son’s birth easier, but all things were working the way God said they would.

When they arrived in Bethlehem, there were many people there for the census, and the only lodging they could find was in a stable. There may have been some prejudice because Joseph and Mary weren’t married, and Mary was with child.

“And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:6-7).

The King of kings was born in a stable…the perfect Lamb of God. What could be more humble than the Son of God being born in a manger? God is always our example in life, and humility is something we all need to work on.

If people had been paying attention, they would have heard a host of angels singing to announce the birth of Jesus. It was lowly shepherds who first heard the good news of Christ’s birth. An angel made the announcement.

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).

There was great joy among the heavenly host. God’s own Son had been born! “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:13-14).

That joy should be in the heart of every Christian today. We need to share that joy with everybody.

The shepherds left their flocks and went to find Jesus. Have you left the ways of the world to find Jesus? There is no better gift for you to receive than God’s free gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. The gift is there, and you must accept it in order to receive the full blessing of salvation. God’s ways are mysterious, but perfect. Keep Christmas about Christ.

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).

 

What’s Next? :: By Daymond Duck

Published on: by RR10 Category:Daymond Duck, General Articles

As we approach 2026, it seems to me that something happens every day that appears to be related to Bible prophecy.

I often catch myself wondering what’s next.

Will 2026 bring:

  • The Rapture?
  • The Rise of the Ten Kings?
  • The Battle of Gog of Magog?
  • A digital ID in the U.S.
  • A covenant with many for seven years of peace in the Middle East.
  • The judgment of God on America over Pres. Trump’s efforts to appease Muslim intolerance of other religions by dividing Israel.
  • Democrats retaking the House and/Senate in the mid-term elections.
  • More wars and rumors of wars.
  • More frequent and intense natural disasters.

Very little surprises me anymore, and I believe we can expect almost anything.

God’s batting average is 100%.

Every jot and tittle of His Word must be fulfilled, and we are watching it play out on a daily basis.

Here are some recent events that seem to be related to Bible prophecy:

One, concerning an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters at the end of the age (and possibly Pres. Trump’s efforts to appease the Muslims by dividing Israel): on Dec. 19, 2025, it was reported that:

  • A powerful windstorm with gusts reaching 144 mph (50-80 mph in lower elevations) battered parts of the Pacific Northwest and Rockies this week, leaving one dead, two injured, and hundreds of thousands without power.
  • The deep low-pressure system continues moving east toward the northern Plains and Midwest, sustaining severe winds and wildfire risks.

Two, concerning an increase in earthquakes at the end of the age: on Dec. 20, 2025, Prophecy News Watch (PNW) posted an article by Michael Snyder (Economic Collapse Blog) that said:

  • Here in the United States, we have been experiencing lots and lots of little earthquakes, but thankfully, we have not been hit by a really bad one yet.
  • Will our luck run out in 2026?
  • According to the Daily Mail, the dozens of earthquakes that have been rattling the New Madrid fault zone since the middle of November are “renewing fears of a catastrophic natural disaster soon.”
  • Experts are also urging us to keep an eye on the Cascadia Subduction Zone.
  • Beneath Cascadia’s forests and coastlines lies a 600-mile fault capable of producing a magnitude-9 earthquake.
  • The last one struck in 1700, shaking the region for minutes and sending a massive tsunami all the way to Japan.
  • Today, nearly 17 million people live on top of the same silent threat.
  • Scientists warn that when it breaks again, the Pacific Northwest could change in a matter of minutes.
  • Sediment cores extracted from the Pacific seafloor suggest that two major fault systems along the western coast of the United States and Canada might be partially synchronized.
  • New findings reveal that after an earthquake on the southern part of the Cascadia subduction zone, an earthquake soon after on the northern part of the San Andreas fault appears to occur roughly half of the time.
  • These results, published in Geosphere, provide evidence of stress triggering, which has long been invoked to explain how activity on one fault might lead to activity on another nearby.

(My opinion: I am not predicting a major earthquake along the New Madrid, or Cascadia, or San Andreas fault zones in 2026, but I want to remind everyone that God warned the nations against dividing the Promised Land, and He can cause or allow natural disasters anytime He wants.)

Three, concerning wars and rumors of wars: on Dec. 13, 2025, ISIS terrorists in Syria killed three U.S. citizens (two U.S. soldiers and one civilian interpreter), and Pres. Trump said the U.S. would retaliate.

On Dec. 19, 2025, it was reported that:

  • The U.S. struck 70 targets in areas across central Syria that had ISIS infrastructure and weapons, and more strikes should be expected.

The U.S. Sec. of War, Pete Hegseth, said, “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance.”

(More: Following the U.S. strike, Al-Qaeda’s leader posted the following on Telegram: I bless and commend all the heroic operations carried out against Jews and Americans throughout the world. And I call upon every honorable and zealous Muslim, and every free, courageous, and notable person in this world, to take the initiative and hasten to eradicate the dual evil (Jews and Americans) wherever they are found.)

Four, concerning an increase in wickedness (days of Noah) at the end of the age: last year a Muslim terrorist from Saudi Arabia drove a vehicle into a crowd at a Christmas Market that killed six and injured hundreds.

About one week ago, a Muslim father and son killed 16 and injured dozens of others at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Australia.

This week, a Muslim terrorist attack was foiled at the same Christmas Market in Germany, and another was foiled at a Christmas Market in Poland.

(FYI: Muslim terrorist attacks on Christian and Jewish holidays are becoming a global problem. This article contains several reports on Muslim terrorist attacks all over the world, and I could have easily recorded two or three times as many reports as I have.)

Five, on Dec. 20, 2025, it was reported that Pres. Trump has released a plan called “Project Sunrise” to rebuild Gaza as a high-tech, luxury coastal entity over the next 20 years.

I can’t imagine it happening, but here is a link to the article for those who want to check it out:

https://www.newsofbahrain.com/world/123725.html

Here are some Scriptures that may refer to Gaza’s future: Amos 1:6-8; Jer. 25:17-20, 47:1-7; Zeph. 2:4-7, and Zech. 9:5-7.

Six, concerning the spread of Islam and antisemitism in Germany: on Dec. 21, 2025, it was reported that:

  • In 1975, there were 10 mosques in Germany.
  • In 2025, there are 2,750 mosques in Germany.

(My comment: Beware America, the Islamic camel has its nose under the edge of the U.S. tent. Beware Church, militant Islam forces non-Muslims to submit.)

Seven, concerning Islamic intolerance of other religions and a falling away in the Church at the end of the age: on Dec. 20, 2025, The Gateway Pundit reported that:

  • Europe is increasingly restricting public Christmas celebrationsas political and cultural elites retreat from the continent’s Judeo-Christian identity while simultaneously caving to liberal pressure to embrace Islam and aggressive secularism.
  • Public displays of Christmas, once understood as inclusive and unifying, are now treated as controversial in countries such as France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, and others.

Eight, concerning the Islamic threat to America: on Dec. 21, 2025, the Daily Caller reported that the U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard said:

  • Islamist ideology is the greatest near and long-term threat to American freedom and security.
  • At its core, Islam is a political ideology that seeks to create a global caliphate that governs us here in America.
  • It is threatening Western civilization by promoting governance by Sharia law.
  • A free society cannot survive if it refuses to defend itself.

(More: On Dec. 22, 2025, The Christian Post reported that “Five Iranian Christians have been sentenced to a combined 50 years in prison for religious activities, including prayer, baptism and distributing Bibles.”)

Nine, on Dec. 17, 2025, the U.S. Dept. of War hosted the Pentagon’s first “Christmas Worship Service” with both military and civilians gathering in the center courtyard to sing songs of praise to God and hear a presentation of the Gospel message from evangelist Franklin Graham.

The Dept. of War started holding monthly worship services in May of 2025; this was the first Christmas service.

Ten, concerning the return of Jews to Israel, the expansion of Israel’s borders, and Jews living in Judea at the end of the age: on Dec. 21, 2025, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved the establishment of 11 new towns and legalization of 8 Jewish existing communities across Judea and Samaria.

Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said:

  • Within three years, we have legalized 69 new settlements – a record like no other.
  • The people of Israel are returning to their land, building it, and strengthening their hold on it.

Eleven, concerning the hatred of the Jews and their return to the Promised Land at the end of the age: on Dec. 23, 2025, it was reported that Israel’s Foreign Min. Gideon Saar:

  • Issued an emotional and urgent call: come home.
  • Saar implored Jews from the diaspora to make aliyah, warning that antisemitic violence has reached alarming new heights globally while foreign governments fail to offer meaningful protection.

(My comment: It is my understanding that the Jews would return to Israel in two great waves: one in unbelief over a period of time before the Tribulation Period, and the other in a matter of days as believers in Jesus at His Second Coming; Ezek. 36:24-27; Ezek. 37:5; Rom. 11:1, 26.)

Twelve, concerning wars and rumors of wars, and the use of nuclear weapons during the Tribulation Period: on Dec. 23, 2025, U.S. Vice-Pres. J.D. Vance said:

  • The mass migration agenda could risk nuclear weapons in Europe falling under the control of Islamist politicians.
  • There is a “direct American interest” in preventing countries like France and the UK from being “overwhelmed with very destructive moral ideas” and allowing “nuclear weapons to fall in the hands of people who can actually cause very, very serious harm to the United States.”

(My comment: Militant Muslims often shout, “death to Israel” and “death to America.” America should be concerned about Islam taking over nuclear powers, having access to nuclear secrets, controlling the militaries and weapons of France, the UK, etc.).

Thirteen, concerning a recent snow in the desert in Saudi Arabia and natural disasters: on Dec. 25, 2025, Adam Berkowitz wrote:

  • The Bible presents snow not as a meteorological surprise but as something fully under Divine control.
  • In Job, God confronts human certainty about the natural world: “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail?” (Job 38:22).
  • Snow is described not as an accident of nature but as something stored and released by God at His discretion.
  • The Sages taught that the weather is not background noise to history.
  • It is one of the instruments through which God governs the world.
  • When snow falls in a desert known for heat and drought, it exposes how fragile human expectations really are.
  • The landscape people assume will always remain the same can be overturned overnight.

Fourteen, concerning wars and rumors of wars: on Dec. 22, 2025, the Prophecy News Watch (PNW) staff wrote:

  • Hamas is rearming and refusing to surrender its weapons.
  • Hezbollah, under growing internal pressure inside Lebanon, continues to resist disarmament.
  • And Iran, the gravitational force behind both groups, is steadily rebuilding its ballistic missile stockpiles.
  • Now comes the political signal that suggests the current moment may be only an intermission, not an ending: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is widely expected to approach President Trump later this month with a renewed, comprehensive plan to confront all three actors.
  • If that happens, it will mark a recognition of an uncomfortable truth–piecemeal solutions have failed, and the region is, once again, back to square one.
  • Despite the world’s desire for peace, history suggests peace without decisive outcomes is an illusion.
  • As 2026 approaches, the signs are troublingly clear.
  • The players are rearming.
  • The grievances remain.
  • And the lesson–that unresolved wars always return–has once again gone unheeded.

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