By the grace of God, I have had the privilege of meeting and spending time with some of the greatest Bible prophecy teachers in the United States. I proudly include many of them among my best friends. I cherish the time I spend with them. The fellowship and discussions are wonderful, but there is something I have heard over and over again. These premier teachers have such a great knowledge and love for Bible prophecy that it is difficult for them to understand why most of society, including many pastors and church members, reject it outright. They wonder how people can be so disinterested when Bible prophecy is so quickly and clearly unfolding. How can pastors say all Scripture is profitable and ignore up to 40% of the Bible?

Pope Francis addressed this in his daily homily on Nov. 29, 2013. He talked about the “spirit of intelligence” and the “spirit of the world.” He said the “spirit of intelligence” leads people to understand the signs of the times. But the “spirit of the world” leads people down a different path that restricts their understanding. Wow! I don’t doubt that many in the church are lukewarm, but it is alarming to think that so many Sunday morning pew-sitters and pastors can ignore the “spirit of intelligence” and be blinded by the “spirit of the world.”

Pope Francis said God wants people to have the “spirit of intelligence” so they can understand the signs of the times. He pointed out that Jesus told the disciples to pay attention to the signs, but the Pharisees chose to ignore them. Their decision to ignore the signs caused them to not understand how God operates in history. Pastors and church members should pay attention: Ignoring the signs results in a diminished knowledge of God and a less intelligent church.

Pope Francis said Jesus pretended to be angry with the two men on the road to Emmaus because they did not understand the signs of the times. Jesus called their lack of understanding foolish and slow of heart. The pontiff said those who ignore the signs today are like those two men: foolish and slow of heart because they don’t want to understand what is happening in their life, in the world and in history. Who can deny the truth of this when pastors and church members deliberately choose to neglect the signs that God gave and Jesus told us to watch?

Pope Francis pointed out that the “spirit of the world” doesn’t want people to understand the signs of the times. He doesn’t want people to ask God why certain things are happening. Instead of praying for God’s help, the “spirit of the world” wants people to come up with an explanation that suits their own likes and personal way of thinking. This deceiving spirit opposes what Jesus asks of people and offers substitute worldly explanations to direct their thoughts away from Bible truth. He is their spiritual enemy, but many pastors and church members choose his voice over the voice of Jesus (1 John 4:1-5).

I’m not sure what he was implying, but Pope Francis reminded his listeners that it was God who said, “You were not my people.” I personally do not think people have to know Bible prophecy to be saved, but Bible prophecy is about Jesus and it is not good when pastors and church members don’t want to know more about Jesus.

I often hear people say Bible prophecy is too complicated and no one understands it. Pope Francis reminded his listeners that we are not alone in trying to understand the signs. He said the Lord gives us the Holy Spirit to help us understand them. He also gave us the prophecies so He knows what they are all about. If they really are called by God, it is their responsibility to inform the world about this critical issue.

So why do people ignore Bible prophecy? As I understand Pope Francis, it is because the understanding of some is restricted by the “spirit of the world,” some have made a conscious choice to ignore the signs, some are foolish and slow of heart, some have been deceived into developing explanations that suit their own likes and way of thinking, and some may not be saved.

FYI: God Has Spoken (And We Know It) by Daymond Duck is available, (linked to my publisher @ https://www.raptureready.com/terry/book17.html). Books and a Kindle version are available at amazon.com. A Nook version is available at bn.com. Check out what it says about Syria, Russia, Iran, Egypt, natural disasters, the Two-State Solution, etc.

Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck

On Nov. 12, 2013, a Rapture Ready reader named Anthony (last name withheld) sent me the following headline: “Obama Plans to Force Israel to Accept Palestinian State with Jerusalem as the Capital.” Anthony had a question: “Do you have plans on writing anything about this matter as a commentary on raptureready.com?” The article, Anthony referred to, was written by a former Washington, D.C. attorney named Michael T. Snyder. He runs a website called theeconomiccollapseblog.com. I don’t usually comment on what other writers say, but Michael’s is very important.

Michael wrote, “Obama has been promising them [the PA] a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital since very early in his presidency.” True, but God made a covenant to give ALL of the land of Canaan to Israel for an EVERLASTING possession (Genesis 17:7-8). President Obama’s promise to the PA transgresses God’s promise to Israel. President Obama’s promise will be temporarily fulfilled, but it will turn out to be as hollow as his promise to run a transparent government.

Michael wrote, “If Israel and the Palestinians do not agree on a ‘two state solution’ by the end of this year, the Obama administration plans to propose its own solution and force it on the two sides in early 2014.” The Bible says God will drag the nations into the battle of Armageddon for parting His land (Joel 3:2), so we know the land of Israel will be divided and now we are reading that it is President Obama’s goal to do that very thing.

Instead of praying for the peace of Jerusalem, President Obama is working for the division of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). We also know that Israel will eventually be coerced into signing a seven-year treaty but God will remove peace from the earth when the head of the New World Order confirms it (Daniel 9:27; Revelation 6:3-4). The Bible says: “When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

Incidentally, if President Obama’s treaty is the one that triggers the Tribulation period, it will have to be for seven years.

Michael wrote, “Ultimately, Obama plans to force Israel to give up the West Bank, East Jerusalem and control over the Temple Mount in exchange for a ‘promise of peace’ that is not even worth the paper that it will be printed on.” The good news is that a worthless treaty is also a fulfilment of Bible prophecy. The bad news is that I think Michael was reminding us that the treaty that is confirmed by the Antichrist will be worthless because that arrogant land-dividing liar will break it at the middle of the Tribulation period (Daniel 9:27).

Michael rightly pointed out that President Obama has said, “Israel doesn’t know what its own best interests are.” Michael added that, “Not only does Obama believe that he knows what is best for Israel he also plans to force them to do it.” I say, President Obama not only doesn’t know what Israel’s best interests are; he doesn’t know what his best interests are. If he knew what his best interests are he would stop lying, stop supporting homosexuality and stop supporting abortion; make a real commitment to Jesus, etc. Unless he repents, the Bible says he will receive a reprobate mind and eventually spend eternity in the lake of fire (Romans 1:28; Revelation 21:8).

Michael wrote that a senior Palestinian advisor said, “Abu Mazen (Abbas) heard from Obama and his administration in a very categorical way that a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital is in the American national and security interest.”

Thus, it is clear that President Obama doesn’t even know what is in the best interests of the U.S. If he did, he would bless Israel and defend Jerusalem (Genesis 12:3; Zechariah 12:3, 8-9; Psalm 83:2-4). Since he has opted for America to be cursed, the U.S. is in greater danger than Israel and we may soon know why our once-great nation is irrelevant at the end of the age.

On Nov. 6, 2013, I read an article by Aaron Klein on WND titled, “Report: Kerry Threatening Israel with Sanctions.” As I understand it, the U.S. and EU are working together to intimidate and threaten Israel into accepting a Palestinian State on the West Bank based on the pre-1967 borders with some land swaps. If Israel refuses to agree to it by January 2014, Israel will be barred from taking part in certain EU programs and cut off from sources of financing for projects in the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.

And if that doesn’t work the U.S. and EU will take steps to damage Israel’s economy. Michael and Aaron are doing us a favor by reporting on these things, but no weapon formed against Israel will prosper (Isaiah 54:17). Ready or not, Bible prophecy is coming to a boiling point and planet Earth appears to be on the verge of world changing events.
FYI: God Has Spoken (And We Know It) by Daymond Duck is available, (linked to my publisher @ https://www.raptureready.com/terry/book17.html).

Books and a Kindle version are available at amazon.com. A Nook version is available at bn.com. Check out what it says about Syria, Russia, Iran, Egypt, natural disasters, the Two-State Solution, etc.

Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck