5 Sensational Signs of the Second Coming :: By Britt Gillette

Published on: by RR10 Category:Britt Gillette, General Articles

Why the Constant Need to Sensationalize What’s Already Sensational?

In my lifetime, people have made a number of sensational claims regarding the end times and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, most of these claims turned out to be (at best) misleading and oftentimes false.

For instance, take The Bible Code. I remember walking through the local mall back in the mid-1990s, passing the bookstore, and seeing The Bible Code book featured in a window display. It piqued my curiosity. The book claimed the Bible contained secret codes, and until the invention of modern computers, those codes remained hidden. But under scrutiny, The Bible Code’s claims didn’t hold up. Once you examine the methodology used, you realize you could find these types of “secret hidden codes” in almost any book ever written.

Another “event” capturing the popular imagination was the appearance of “the blood moons.” In the years 2014 and 2015, a tetrad (four consecutive lunar eclipses) appeared on Jewish feast days. Many people linked these celestial events with Joel 2:31, a prophecy concerning the Day of the Lord. Needless to say, the blood moons came and went, and the world didn’t enter the end times as some suggested, nor did the rapture of the church take place.

This past April, an eclipse took place over the United States, and its path of visibility intersected with another eclipse path from seven years earlier. The two paths formed an “X” over the continental United States, and yet again, many people made fantastic claims – this was a sign of God’s impending judgment on America, the beginning of the Tribulation, or the rapture of the church. Yet, like the blood moons, the April eclipse came and went – no rapture, no Second Coming, and no massive destruction of the United States.

We could catalogue page after page of similar claims from the past that came to nothing. People love to tout or sensationalize these types of “new teachings” or “new prophecies.” For some reason, we have a need to sensationalize what’s already sensational. It’s important to be alert and vigilant against such claims. We must examine them in light of what the Bible says. When we do, the overwhelming majority of these claims don’t survive scrutiny. Yet, these sensational claims grab headlines and capture attention. This is odd because we don’t need to sensationalize Bible prophecy. It’s already sensational. What do I mean by that?

Define “Sensational”

Look at the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of “sensational.” When you do, you find this:

1) of or relating to sensation or the senses

2) arousing or tending to arouse (as by lurid details) a quick, intense, and usually superficial interest, curiosity, or emotional reaction
sensational tabloid news

By this definition, the example they provide is perfect – “sensational tabloid news.” Think of all the sensational headlines you see as you walk down the checkout aisle in the grocery store – headlines like “Kamala has Trump’s Love Child” or “Alien Baby Found in Kansas.”

These types of headlines are “sensational” – meaning superficial (and most of the time, false). They’re meant to evoke an emotional reaction, but when you dig into the facts of the story, there’s nothing there.

But this isn’t the only definition of “sensational.” Merriam-Webster offers a third:

3) exceedingly or unexpectedly excellent or great
a sensational talent

Think of a gold medal winner in the Olympics, a world-famous artist, or a renowned musician. By this definition, “sensational” means the pinnacle of excellence.

This third definition applies to the Bible. The prophecies in the Bible aren’t sensational in a tabloid sense. They’re sensational in a “pinnacle of excellence” sense. The Bible’s track record when it comes to predicting future events is 100% accurate.

The Bible doesn’t contain vague prophecies. It’s filled with detailed, specific prophecies made hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of years in advance. Prophecies recorded by men from different time periods and life circumstances who claimed to be moved by God’s Spirit. Yet despite their diversity in both time and circumstance, the words of those men fit together in perfect harmony. How is this possible? Because none of these men prophesied on their own; they simply recorded God’s Word as it was revealed to them (2 Peter 1:20-21).

Bible prophecy doesn’t need to be sensationalized. It’s already sensational.

Here are just a few examples:

1) Israel Back in the Land

In A.D. 70, Roman soldiers put down a rebellion, sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and carried the Jewish people to the farthest corners of the Empire to serve as slaves. They tried to eliminate every trace of the nation of Israel, even renaming the land Palestine in honor of Israel’s historical enemies, the Philistines. Rome intended to erase the memory of Israel forever.

But God had other plans. Thousands of years ago, He foretold the long exile of His people. He promised to call them from “among the nations” (Ezekiel 39:28), from “the farthest corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:12), and from “north, south, east, and west” (Psalm 107:3). He promised to welcome the Jewish people home from the lands where they were scattered (Ezekiel 20:34), and He promised to restore them to the land of Israel from distant lands (Jeremiah 30:2, 10). And this is exactly what He did. Every person on earth is an eyewitness to the modern miracle of Israel.

Think about how sensational this fulfilled prophecy is. Previous conquered and scattered people assimilated into other nations and cultures. For example, Rome and Carthage fought three wars known as the Punic Wars. After more than one hundred years of fighting, Rome finally conquered Carthage (both the city and its empire), salting the earth so nothing would ever grow again. Rome’s goal was to completely and utterly destroy Carthage as a nation, people, and culture. Did they succeed? I think so. Have you ever met a Carthaginian? I haven’t either. But I’ve met quite a few Jewish people.

Despite the mighty Roman Empire’s best efforts, the Jewish people miraculously retained their distinct racial, religious and cultural identity for centuries while living as exiles among the nations of the world. How? Why do the Jewish people thrive to this day while other conquered ancient peoples have assimilated among the nations? Where are the Hittites, Ammonites, Edomites, Jebusites, and Philistines? The answer is found in the Bible.

The Jewish people are still around because of the God of Israel – the same God who promised Abraham his descendants would number more than the stars in the sky (Genesis 15:5). He’s the same God who promised over and over again to bring His people out of exile and back into the land of Israel, and He did it in our day and time. We’re all witnesses to what happened in 1948. The rebirth of a nation almost 2,000 years after its destruction is nothing less than sensational – and the Bible foretold it.

2) Israel With An Exceedingly Great Army

In his Valley of the Dry Bones vision (where God breathes life back into the Jewish people), the prophet Ezekiel saw the Jewish people come to life and stand up as “an exceedingly great army” (Ezekiel 37:10). Zechariah repeated this promise, speaking of a day when Israel is like a fire among sheaves of grain, burning up the neighboring nations (Zechariah 12:6). In fact, he claims even the weakest soldier among them will be like David (Zechariah 12:8). Do we see this today? We do.

What are the odds of Israel winning four conventional wars in a 25-year period? Israel barely cracks the Top 100 nations in terms of population, but its military consistently ranks among the most powerful in the world. The whole country is less than 13,000 square miles (approximately the size of New Jersey). That’s less than one-tenth of one percent of the land mass of the surrounding nations that wish to destroy her. Does this sound like a recipe for “an exceedingly great army”?

Yet, that’s exactly what the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) is. Surrounded on all sides, a brand-new nation that didn’t even have a formal military emerged victorious in a multi-front war in 1948. With Syria, Jordan, and Egypt preparing for war, the Israelis struck preemptively in 1967. The result? They achieved overwhelming victory in just six days.

Caught by surprise on Yom Kippur in 1973, her enemies almost cut Israel in half within 48 hours. But the IDF quickly won back all the territory it lost in the opening days of the war, and the world brokered a truce with the IDF at the gates of Cairo and Damascus. Against all odds, Israel always seems to come out on top.

3) The Gospel Preached Throughout the World

When His disciples asked Jesus to describe the signs of His Coming and the end of the age, Jesus described many signs to look for. Among them, He said this: “And the Gospel will be preached throughout the entire world, so that every nation will hear it – and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). Many people today take this sign for granted. They fail to recognize how sensational it is.

Nearly 2,000 years ago, a Jewish carpenter with some fishermen as followers claimed His message would be preached throughout the entire world. That’s a bold proclamation. His disciples didn’t know whole continents existed. Jesus wasn’t a wealthy, earthly king. He never wrote a book. He never led a nation in military conquest. Nothing up to that time or since would suggest such a person would achieve fame throughout the centuries. Jesus even said in reference to a woman who poured expensive perfume on His head, “I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed” (Matthew 26:13).

Today, the Bible is available in hundreds of languages. Satellites broadcast Christian programming throughout the world. Every day, missionaries carry the Gospel to people who have never heard it before. And everywhere the Good News is preached, the woman’s deed is remembered and discussed. No need to sensationalize it. It’s already sensational.

4) Rise of the Gog of Magog Alliance – Six centuries before the crucifixion of Jesus, the prophet Ezekiel foretold a future invasion of Israel. He said a military alliance that includes Russia, Iran, Turkey, and a number of Muslim nations will attack Israel “from the north” (Ezekiel 38:15; Ezekiel 39:2) “in the latter days” (Ezekiel 38:8) when God brings His people home from among the enemy nations (Ezekiel 39:27).

Never before have these nations been in alliance. But today, we see them coming together. Russia and Iran have grown closer and closer, especially since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Turkey, a member of NATO and the first Muslim-majority nation to officially recognize the state of Israel, is breaking from its traditional Western allies on many issues. One of the nations, Afghanistan, is once again under control of the Taliban and antagonistic toward Israel. Libya and Sudan have developed close military ties with Russia. And Russia, Iran, and Turkey all have a military presence in Syria, putting them right on Israel’s northern border. Is all this a coincidence? I don’t think so. Who knows when they’ll ultimately attack, but rest assured, they will. The stage is being set in our day and time for the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38-39.

5) The Rising Mark of the Beast System

Ours is the first generation of Christians able to witness some of the events foretold in the Book of Revelation outside of a supernatural fulfillment. For example, the ability of the mark of the beast to determine who can buy or sell (Revelation 13:16-17) was, outside of the supernatural, impossible for past generations to implement. While a global government could have demanded such a system, it’s unrealistic to believe they could have implemented it and ended all black-market activity. But today? Such a system is waiting in the wings, preparing to roll out.

Right now, 134 countries, representing 98% of global GDP, are exploring the use of central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Atlantic Council hosts a CBDC tracker where you can check the status of these rollouts. CBDC is centralized, digital fiat currency. But unlike the currencies of the past, CBDC will be fully programmable. This means central banks can manipulate it in real-time. They’ll have the ability to raise and lower interest rates on your currency in real-time. They’ll have the ability to put restrictions on your currency in real-time, such as where you can spend it and on what. And with CBDC, governments will have full insight into every financial transaction you make. Throw in tokenized assets and digital IDs, and you get a gated global financial system indistinguishable in function from the mark of the beast system.

In addition to these signs, we see many more, such as:

  • The Jewish People Back in Control of Jerusalem (Luke 21:24-28)
  • Arrival of the Exponential Curve (Matthew 24:3‐8)
  • An Increase in Travel and Knowledge (Daniel 12:4)
  • Israel Surrounded by Enemies (Psalm 83:4; Psalm 83:12; Ezekiel 11:14‐17; Ezekiel 35:10)
  • The Rise of a Revived Roman Empire (Daniel 2:43)
  • The Rise of a Global Government (Revelation 13:7-17)
  • The State of Mankind (2 Timothy 3:1-4)
  • Denial of the Signs (2 Peter 3:3‐4)

All This is Sensational!

Our generation is witness to the emergence and convergence of so many specific and detailed events – events Jesus told us to look for – and that should command the attention of every Christian on Earth. Because for more than 1,800 years following the crucifixion, these signs were noticeably absent. But today? Today, we see them all around us. For the first time ever, each of these signs is present. The Bible foretold them all in advance. We’re witnesses to these things. Now that’s sensational!

So don’t get distracted by tabloid-like headlines telling you a comet, asteroid, eclipse, or any other imagining of man indicates Jesus is about to return. Instead, focus your attention on the Word of God. Jesus is coming, but the reason we know that doesn’t have anything to do with bible codes, blood moons, or crossing eclipse paths. We know Jesus is coming because the Bible told us to look for specific signs, and we see those signs in our day and time. They’re amazing and sensational. And there’s no need to sensationalize what’s already sensational.

***

Britt Gillette is the author of several books on bible prophecy and the end times. You can find more of his work at brittgillette.substack.com.

A Beastly Triumphal Entry? :: By Stephen Meehan

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles, Stephen Meehan

“And when He was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that comes in the name of the Lord: peace in Heaven, and glory in the highest” (Luke 19:37-38).

Most Christians are aware of the Biblical account of Jesus riding on the foal of a donkey into the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, almost 2,000 years ago. He was presenting Himself to the Jewish citizenry as the Lamb of God, to be inspected by them for the soon-coming Passover celebration. They should have seen that He was without blemish – sinless – and that as the Son of God, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, was the only One qualified to be God’s perfect sacrifice for the atonement of man’s sins. Sadly, most missed the significance of Jesus presenting Himself to them and that He was God’s Messiah prophesied long ago to come to them.

Will this event be mimicked in the near future by another coming in his own name?

I want to relate to you an event that I witnessed about 5 years ago while I was visiting the state of Israel after flying a trip into the Ben Gurion airport in Israel. Hopefully, you will find the story interesting and thought-provoking at the end of this account. It certainly caught my attention after witnessing such a spectacle in the city of Jerusalem, a scenario that I had not considered before.

Up until a few years ago, I was a commercial cargo pilot flying worldwide to various destinations globally, in both the civilian and the military spheres of aviation. It was extremely interesting flying, and I saw a lot of the world. The unique aspect of the type of flying that I was involved in was that we never knew at the beginning of our rotations exactly where we would wind up traveling to during our 18 days on (with 12 days off after our series of flights had concluded).

The schedule always changed, as trips were either dropped or new ones added on. It made for a lot of last-minute schedule hiccups, but at the same time, it allowed for some very interesting flying that a regular airline pilot would not be exposed to. I enjoyed that work immensely.

One such series of flights led me to the Middle East to drop off military freight at a remote Jordanian airport along the Dead Sea and then to make the short flight over to Tel Aviv, where from there, I was supposed to travel home via a commercial airline to begin my 12 days off for the month.

No way was I going home this time after ending in Israel! If the Lord dropped into my lap a second opportunity to tour the Holy Land for a week or so, I was taking advantage of it! It is not every day that someone gets a free ride into the Jewish State; has the first night in a hotel in Tel Aviv paid for by the company; can use Reward Nights to cover the cost of the next 6 nights of hotels in Israel – including the free breakfasts and evening snacks at the hotels – and then only has to pay for a rental car and gasoline. I was totally on board with staying there! Thank you, Lord, for this special surprise!

I was like a kid going back to Disney World! I loved touring Israel the first time! All the biblical accounts of the land, the places where Jesus walked and taught, the history of the place, the Bible characters who lived there, the foretold events that will occur there, the whole experience! Where else in the world can a person get such a sensory overload?

My wife and I had visited the Holy Land in 1988, while I was a contract pilot with Lufthansa Airlines. How is that for a bit of irony? A German airline – with their history with the Jews 40 or so years earlier – was the means for me to get to the Holy Land to enjoy the sights, sounds, and interactions with the Chosen People in their re-birthed ancient land. 1988 was the 40-year anniversary of the State of Israel getting re-born in a single day.

During that first visit to Israel, we did all our touring via arranged bus tour groups. This time around, I wanted to venture out on my own – going to places that the tour groups would not venture to. At least not in the whirlwind fashion that I would be exploring the country.

The only kicker was that I could not get 6 straight nights in a hotel in Jerusalem like I would have hoped for. I had to spend the first two nights in Haifa, then only two nights in Jerusalem, then back to Haifa for the final two nights. Using Reward points, there are some limitations on room availability. And since I had no prior knowledge of me even stepping foot back into the Land as quickly as it happened, I could not make advanced reservations.

But it was still awesome being there, and the slight inconvenience was not a problem. I just planned my touring around the country on where I started out from – either the Haifa area or from Jerusalem.

From Haifa, I went as far north as I could possibly drive, right up along the border with Lebanon. I was feeling quite adventurous and wanted to see everything. I saw IDF patrol boats right up along the northern border, keeping a watch on the activities of any undesirables within the Hezbollah region, that, like always, were planning for some future actions against the Jews.

From there, I hugged the border as close as possible to get up close to Syria, then made my way into the Golan Heights. Extremely interesting relics are out among the Golan Heights area: damaged tanks – from Israel and Syria – where they stopped operating back in the 1973 Yom Kippur War and other war materials purposely left where they saw action. What a scene!

Plaques, statues, all kinds of memorabilia set up to commemorate the soldiers and equipment that fought along that strip during that war. Very interesting to see all of it strewn about the entire Golan Heights and how the existence of the Jewish State was threatened back then – not unlike how they are continually threatened every single day now by the Iranian proxies, as well as Iran, who want to vanquish the Chosen People. Some things never change, and never will, until the return of the Prince of Peace. What a time that will be when Israel will be the preeminent nation!

I toured all over the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Nazareth, the Mount of Transfiguration, Megiddo, then eventually ventured down to the Gaza region, close to the Rafah gate leading into Egypt. I wanted to see it all! Get as close as I could to where the action was, and now is. Good thing that I was not there on Oct. 7th of last year! I am not that adventurous…or crazy.

I also drove down along the Dead Sea area. I passed a road sign that read “Lot’s Wife but kept driving, as I figured that it was just some touristy thing. Perhaps I should have stopped and taken a look. It probably was some weathered pillar of salt, but the real thing!?? Highly unlikely, but it could have been interesting to see it nonetheless. The hike in the area and the view of the Dead Sea from there could have been worth it. Sodom and Gomorrah disappeared from view nearby.

I drove by the Dimona area, hoping to see something of their nuclear sites. Nothing was visible, but I still had to take a look. In the 7 days, I covered a lot of land. But in the hopes of not making this too lengthy, I’ll skip to the Jerusalem visit.

What more needs to be said about the ancient City of Jerusalem? That is the central point of all Israel. That is the central focus of most of Scripture. Bible prophecy squarely points to Jerusalem and many yet unfulfilled events that will happen there in the near future.

A Christian who has studied prophecy and the history of the Jews and the accounts of Jesus wants to be there, walking upon that unique place on Earth. It is a supreme thrill to walk along its streets, alleys, passageways, and to experience life there from that vantage point. Nothing and nowhere compares to the level of excitement of just being in the midst of that place, soaking in the ambiance of that ancient city. It is very cool to try to absorb it all in. Unparalleled excitement.

Palm Sunday and Passover were approaching. The evening meals that I was enjoying mentioned in the hotels where I stayed were offering less and less food as Passover neared. Kosher dietary restrictions associated with the Feast required less and less leavened items to be included with the food service. I could still grab a bite to eat out on the streets. So, again, not a problem.

I love how the Lord coincided this unforeseen trip to Israel with the coming event of Palm Sunday. Maybe he knew that sometime in the future, the Palm Sunday celebration and what transpired would be an article topic of a neophyte part-time writer. What I observed was an eye-opener for me, and maybe there is something to the conclusions that I drew as a result of it.

Having spent two days in the Jewish capital and visiting all the sights – Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum; the Garden Tomb; Golgotha (and yes, it does look like a skull!); the Old City; the Mount of Olives; the Temple Mount; and all of the other highlights of Jerusalem, it was certainly a blessing to be there on Palm Sunday, when throngs of people were retracing the steps of Jesus coming down from the Mount of Olives and into the Old City.

There were thousands of folks from all over the world taking part in this long procession. They were smiling, singing, waving palm branches, enjoying the beautiful sunshine – all in honor of Our Lord.

I wanted to jump in and join them, but I stayed on the sidelines, capturing it all on video on my iPhone. It actually did not dawn on me to jump in line till after, but I’m glad that I didn’t. Had I done that, I would not have seen what was coming at the end.

So, in all, I think that the procession lasted close to an hour and a half. There were that many people being a part of it. Again, a very cool thing to watch and enjoy.

But then, at the very end of the line of people, came a smiling and waving Roman Catholic bishop or prelate – or whatever his role was in the Catholic Church to the City of Jerusalem – acting like we were all there to see him. He was like a Santa Claus at the end of a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, waving at all the people like we couldn’t wait for his presence.

I was starting to grind my teeth. All these beautiful people are there to celebrate what our Lord and Savior had done there two millennia ago, and this guy is acting like we were there celebrating his arrival. Man, was I fuming.

Even a guy directly in front of him in the procession kept turning back to him, showing his displeasure, and confronted this “priest.” Two or three times, he turned to rush him and yell at him. I kept thinking, “I’m right there with you, buddy. I’m not happy with his actions either.”

Why ruin an otherwise awesome display of love toward the Redeemer? Who does this guy think that he is? Does this occur at every Palm Sunday celebration there, and I’m just not aware of it?

It was completely upsetting to watch this guy give a parade wave to all of us on the sidelines. Like he is trying to soak in some pretense of adoration that no one on the sidelines was directing toward him. It was buffoonish. I’m surprised that more of the procession participants didn’t voice their anger at him. In a joyous celebration of Jesus Christ, it was totally uncalled for.

After I left Israel, I got to thinking about that occurrence. And especially how a scene such as that could be an indicator of what might eventually take place in Jerusalem in the near future.

We know from Bible Prophecy that the Antichrist will enter the Holy of Holies in the rebuilt Temple midway through the Tribulation Period to declare himself to be God. Lucifer and his fallen horde of angels have been permanently kicked out of Heaven; they go on a devilish rampage against the inhabitants of Earth, and Lucifer enters into his antichrist figure.

We read that the False Prophet will force everyone to worship the image of the Beast. Could it be that the actual Antichrist will sit in the Holy of Holies to make his declaration, but the rest of the world will see his image via a worldwide satellite system, beamed to everyone’s TV screens? That would certainly qualify as his image, and the author of Revelation had no idea 2,000 years ago of television imagery or how to describe it.

But how will the Antichrist or the Beast make his way to the Temple Mount? Will he be part of a Palm Sunday Triumphal procession into the Old City from the Mount of Olives? Will he try to mimic what Jesus Christ did 2,000 years ago? To present himself as their long-awaited Messiah? Just like that Roman Catholic priest did when I was there to witness such a farce?

We know how Satan likes to deceive and discredit Jesus Christ at every opportunity. Why wouldn’t he use such an occasion to get his man of sin into the city and make his declaration of Godhood? It would fit his M.O. perfectly. Do what the real Christ did, but put his personal flavor onto that entrance. I think that it could certainly happen that way. Never gave it much thought before my Palm Sunday visit to Jerusalem.

We know that the Roman Catholic Church has ambitions for the Holy Land. They had their series of Crusades to wrest control away from the Islamic hordes that held the city. They put up their Catholic shrines at various key locations throughout the city that traditionally marked spots where Jesus supposedly was birthed and died. They want control of the affairs of that place.

Roman Catholicism does not recognize God’s covenant with Israel, in that all the land is for the Jewish people. They want it to be an “international city” but governed over by a Roman Pontiff, very much like their predecessors, the Roman Caesars.

It begs the question then: will it be a Roman Pontiff who enters into the Holy of Holies? Will a pope eventually be at the tail end of a Palm Sunday march into the city? Will he be the one smiling and waving at ALL on the sidelines, throughout the world via TV, as he makes his way to declare himself God?

The popes already call themselves “Holy Father,” a title reserved ONLY for God the Father in Heaven. They call themselves “Vicarious Christi,” meaning ‘in the place of Christ.’ Can a better name be applied to who or what the Antichrist will be? A person both opposed to and operating in the place of Christ? Those titles must mean a lot more than appears just on the surface. They have to have a more latent intent than just window dressing for their faithful. Otherwise, why defy God and name mere men titles reserved for God the Father and the Holy Spirit?

The titles, the similarities, and the way the popes operate seem like more than a coincidence to how the Antichrist will perform when he is unleashed upon the world.

A Roman Catholic priest at the end of a Palm Sunday parade seems also like more than just a random happenstance or nothing worthy of consideration. It may be nothing at all, but it could also portend what is to come.

History will provide the answer. And that history could happen in the very near future. I’m just retelling what I saw and offering up a possible scenario. I also think that it could be an omen.

Perhaps a Pope Damien is waiting in the wings.

“And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9).

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2Thessalonians 2:3-4).

stevemeehan1225@aol.com