General Articles

Messiah Meanderings :: By Terry James

Published on: by RR10

Having just finished a novel, the third of a series, I have a somewhat deeper understanding of things involving Israel’s Messiah. It’s probably just enough knowledge to get me in trouble with scholars on the subject. But anytime you write fiction, you, if you are wise, will dig into the known facts before beginning and while writing.

Thus it was in writing MESSIAH: The Prince That Shall Come. It is the third of the trilogy I call REVELATIONS, the first of the series being REVELATIONS and the second being MICHAEL: Last-Days Lightning.

The title, MESSIAH: The Prince That Shall Come, is, of course, oxymoronic. Messiah is Jesus Christ, and the prince that shall come is the one who will be Antichrist. One could not put together terms more contradictory!

However, I sensed that presenting the title in such a way might bring the two terms together in a way that would pique the prospective reader’s curiosity. You want folks to want to read your stuff, so you must employ literary strategy and so forth at every opportunity.

We know from Bible truth that Israel’s Messiah won’t return until a certain point to rescue the remnant of Israel. We see that in the following passage:

“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10).

This recognition of their Messiah, their Mashiach, won’t take place until the end of the Tribulation–Daniel’s seventieth week—at the time of Armageddon. Until then, we are told that Israel, as a people, is unable to see who is their true Messiah or Mashiach. Paul writes about this:

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25).

This blindness has been evident since the time much of Israel thought Jesus would be the Messiah, considering His miracles and other things while he ministered as the God-Man. When He didn’t deliver them from the oppressors—the Roman government—the Jews, except for a very few, rejected Him. The Lord then, of course, was crucified, becoming the sacrifice that provided redemption once and for all, for all the sins of mankind—past, present, and future.

Jesus said that the Jews would reject Him, but another would come, one whom they would accept. And this is where the prince that shall come steps into the prophetic picture for the wrap-up of things leading to Christ’s Second Advent.

It is more than interesting—and I had a good time playing with the whole matter—that there are two people in Scripture that have been given the title “the son of perdition.”

I know that many of you who study Bible prophecy have wondered about this anomaly (if that’s the appropriate term).

The first usage is, of course, for Judas Iscariot. We find that here:

“While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled” (John 17:12).

The second usage is in reference to the Antichrist.

“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 opposed and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4).

The interesting thing is that the Word of God doesn’t say these two entities are “a” son of perdition. It says each is “the” son of perdition.

And, I believe in some sense that the use of the word “entities” here is proper. These two people, Judas Iscariot and the one who will be Antichrist (if you want to learn his name, you will have to read the novel) are enigmatic, to be sure. Judas is said to have gone “to his own place,” and the Antichrist is said to have come out of the bottomless pit (Revelation 17:8).

Interestingly, it is provocative, as my friend Chuck Missler would have said, that Antichrist and his associate, the False Prophet, are thrown into the lake of fire without going before the Great White Throne to receive their judgment and sentence. They were summarily cast into that final place of eternal torment and were the first to go there.

There is room in this fact to consider whether the Antichrist and False Prophet will be other than human –that is, to speculate whether they might be Nephilim. All other human beings, so far as we know of Scripture, are given judgment before either the Bema (Judgment Seat of Christ) or the Great White Throne. The first and second beasts of Revelation chapter 13 are afforded no such judgment.

Another fascinating point about Judas is that Jesus indicated Judas, “the son of perdition,” was lost from the beginning (John 6:70–71; 17:12).

There will no doubt be corrective measures sent my way with the thought toward changing my meanderings here. But these are just fodder for exploring the strange things we have in Scripture about Antichrist and Judas with regard to Israel’s Messiah and the prince that shall come.

And exploration is what fiction allows to some extent. You will surely want to explore MESSIAH: The Prince That Shall Come!

 

 

Is America on the Cusp of a Food Catastrophe? :: By Jonathan Brentner

Published on: by RR10

Warnings of catastrophic food shortages by the end of 2022 abound. What are we to make of these?

In the book of Genesis, Joseph prepared Egypt for the coming famine and saved the lives of a great many people, including his entire family. Is it prudent to follow his example and prepare for what many tell us is coming our way?

There’s a Proverb that I believe speaks to the day in which we live.

“The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it” (Proverbs 22:3).

Please allow me to present the evidence that I have and demonstrate why it’s prudent, or wise, to prepare for the food shortages looming on our horizon.

Warnings of Great Economic Peril

The warnings of coming economic peril are far too frequent to ignore. Even if food remains on the shelves at some stores, this will make it difficult for a great many people to afford to buy groceries.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently warned about a coming “economic hurricane.” He said this:

“It’s a hurricane. Right now, it’s kind of sunny, things are doing fine, everyone thinks the Fed can handle this … That hurricane is right out there, down the road, coming our way. We just don’t know if it’s a minor one or Superstorm Sandy or Andrew or something like that. You better brace yourself.” [i]

It’s disconcerting that the JPMorgan Chase CEO refers to record-high gas prices and double-digit inflation for groceries as “kind of sunny.” What might the “hurricane” have in store for us if it’s “sunny” now when a great many people are already suffering and unable to make ends meet?

Robert Kiyosaki is an American businessman, author, and the head a of private financial education company that provides personal finance and business education to people through books and videos. Michael Snyder, in his article 4 Really Big Names That Are Warning That Major Economic Disaster Is Ahead, quoted one of his tweets (with his emphases):

“DO YOU HAVE a PLAN ‘B’? We are in the BIGGEST BUBBLE in world history. Bubbles in stocks, real estate, commodities & oil. FUTURE? Possible DEPRESSION with HYPER-INFLATION….”  [ii]

Michael Snyder, a blogger and economic analyst, in that same article wrote this:

“I hope that you are enjoying these beautiful summer weekends while you still can because it appears that very troubled times are dead ahead. Simultaneously, inflation continues to spiral out of control even as economic activity in the U.S. dramatically slows down. Many have compared what we are currently experiencing to the “stagflation” of the 1970s, but the truth is that what we are facing will eventually be so much worse than anything that we went through back then. A meltdown of historic proportions is here, and as you will see below, some of the biggest names in the entire country are talking about it.”  [iii]

Britt Gillette, prominent biblical prophecy author and blogger, recently wrote:

“So, what does all this mean? It means a major economic crisis is on the horizon. It may be the worst global economic crisis ever – worse than the Great Depression. In times of chaos and economic instability, dangerous political leaders and demagogues capture the public imagination. Past economic crises led to the rise of Napoleon, the launch of the Bolshevik Revolution, and the consolidation of German state power in the hands of Adolph Hitler. All these events had grave consequences for the entire world, not just the individual nations in question. Why should we believe this time will be any different? We shouldn’t.”  [iv]

Besides the warnings of increasingly difficult economic times ahead, many are also warning of a severe crisis this fall and winter caused by dangerous food shortages and soaring costs for groceries beyond what we have already seen.

Warnings of Catastrophic Food Shortages

Below is a sampling of quotes that speak of catastrophic food shortages in our future.

Goya Foods CEO Bob Unanue recently told Fox News that the world is on the brink of a food crisis. “We are on the precipice of a global food crisis,” he told Maria Bartiromo. [v]

Rockefeller Foundation president Rajiv Shah described what is soon to unfold as a “massive, immediate food crisis that will strike the entire world, leaving no country untouched.” [vi]

Michael Snyder, on his End of the American Dream blog, wrote about the dire situation facing America and the world. I know it’s long, but he sums up my point better than I can:

“The hits just keep on coming. Over the past few months, I have carefully documented the rapidly growing global food crisis, and I have explained that even here in the United States, food production is going to be way below original expectations this year. Unfortunately, most of the population still doesn’t grasp what is happening. Most people simply assume that everything will turn out okay somehow. Meanwhile, farmers are telling us as loudly as they can that everything will most definitely not be okay.

“In my entire lifetime, I have never seen America’s farmers this alarmed about what is ahead. And of course, everything that we are currently witnessing in the U.S. and around the globe is setting the stage for the sort of historic famines that I have been relentlessly warning my readers about. I wish that I knew a way to get through to the millions upon millions of apathetic people out there that don’t seem to care that a major food crisis is coming, because the suffering that we are going to witness all over the world will be off the charts.” [vii]

I follow a great many newsfeeds that include both believers and those outside the faith. I hear many voices warning of the food crisis that’s about to hit the world and America. Making matters worse are the famine and severe droughts in parts of the world, including the western half of the United States.

The title of this insightful article says it all: U.S. Farmers Issue Dire Warnings of Looming Food Shortages as Most Americans are Clueless as to How Their Food is Produced and Unprepared for What’s Coming. This piece puts together several news stories that contain warnings from farmers concerning the high prices of diesel fuel and fertilizers. Below is a quote from it:

“Today, less than 1% of the population of the United States now produces food for the other 99%, thanks to the technological age, so when farmers, particularly farmers with contracts in the commodity food industry, which is by far the majority, speak out with warnings about what is ahead, it is time to sit up and listen, and realize that if you cannot buy food from your usual local grocery outlets, there will be no one to bail you out if you have not prepared for such a situation.”

A recent article on The Epoch Times website also warns of food shortages later this year and into 2023:

“With each passing week, it’s becoming increasingly clear that severe food shortages are going to be inevitable, more or less worldwide, and whatever food is available will continue to go up in price. The cost of agricultural inputs such as diesel and fertilizers is skyrocketing due to shortages — caused by a combination of intentional and coincidental events — and those costs will be reflected in consumer food prices come fall and next year.”  [viii]

Shortages of Diesel Fuel and DEF Could Spell Doom for Many Americans

Because less than 1% of America’s population produces food, we are totally dependent on diesel fuel for our survival. Without engines propelled by it, food would never reach our groceries stores, and we would starve to death.

The following is a quote from Time magazine warning of the dangers inherent in the shortages of diesel fuel:

“Though most consumers shake their heads at the cost of gasoline and complain about the cost of filling up their car tanks, what they really should be worried about is the price of diesel. The U.S. economy runs on diesel. It’s what powers the container ships that bring goods from Asia and the trucks that collect goods from the ports and bring them to warehouses and then to your home. The farmers who grow the food you eat put diesel in their tractors to plow the fields, and the workers that bring construction equipment to build your home put diesel in their trucks.” [ix]

Not only does the planting and harvesting of crops depend on diesel fuel, but it’s necessary to keep the trucks running that take the harvest of our food supply to relevant plants and then to the stores. I know that the majority of you know this, but so many assume that we can survive without gasoline, natural gas, and diesel fuel; the truth is that all these sources of energy are absolutely essential, and without them, tens of millions of Americans would die of starvation in a very short time.

The looming crisis extends beyond just the shortages of diesel fuel and the soaring prices for this fuel but also to diesel engine oil and diesel exhaust fluid (DEF). Newsweek magazine had this to say about the looming DEF shortage:

“The U.S. could soon experience a severe shortage of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), impacting U.S. drivers already hit with soaring fuel prices. DEF is a solution made up of urea and de-ionized water that is needed for almost everything that runs on diesel. It reduces harmful gases being released into the atmosphere and works by converting nitrogen oxide produced by diesel engines into nitrogen and steam. The solution is injected into the exhaust stream to limit pollution from diesel engines in order to meet current exhaust emissions standards.” [x]

Not only do these things potentially spell disaster for our food supply, but it could mean the deaths of a great many people in the U.S. I cannot emphasize this enough; the warnings regarding shortages of diesel fuel, oil for diesel engines, and DEF could alone spell disaster for tens of millions of people in the U.S.

A Controlled Demolition

Perhaps even more alarming is the purposeful destruction of sources for both food and the draconian restrictions on energy production in the U.S.

Recently, thousands of cattle died in Kansas. The media gave the official cause as excessive heat. In response, I read numerous reports saying that the “official response” was a lie. Ranchers from many other states contradicted the story, stating that even higher temperatures in the past did not impact their herds in this way.

They also said that it’s highly suspicious that so many died at the same time; such things just do not happen. Maybe a few weaker heifers might die from extreme heat, but never thousands at one time. That never happens.

The killing of these cattle was deliberate and fits with a pattern of demolishing the food supply in America.

Lest you think that I’m a wild conspiracy theorist, and some do, it’s well-documented that in the United States alone, fires have struck at least 97 food processing facilities since January of 2021.

Michael Snyder lists all 97 of them in his blog post, More Major Disasters Hit U.S. Food Production – Are You Prepared For What Comes Next? [xi] Click here to see a listing of all of these with dates and locations. And other disasters have taken place since he posted this detailed account.

The authorities in the U.S. are also ordering the slaughtering of chickens and turkeys in huge numbers. They blame the “bird flu,” but it’s too coincidental for me. I’m highly suspicious.

Combined with the famine in many of the western states, the controlled demolition of America adds up to a crisis that will soon hit the U.S. as well as the rest of the world.

Jesus is Coming Soon

What does all this mean?

First, I believe the food crisis on the horizon signifies that we prepare as best we can for the danger that lies ahead. It’s a matter of being prudent.

The writer of the article for The Epoch Times agrees:

“While it’s difficult to predict just how bad it will get in any given area, it seems safe to say that everyone should prepare for some degree of food shortages, regardless of where you live, as we’re staring at a perfect storm of confounding factors that are global in nature and therefore can cause far-reaching and somewhat unpredictable ripple effects.” [xii]

Second, it tells us that Jesus is coming for His church in the very near future.

The catastrophic shortages of fuel and food that lie in the future for our world speak to conditions that the apostle John described in Revelation 6:1-8. (My recent post, The Sound of Approaching Hoofbeats, goes into much detail on how what we are seeing today fits with these verses.)

However, there’s good news in all of this: the Bible says we will be with Jesus before He unleashes the seal judgments described in these verses.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3, Paul describes the judgments that John would decades later write about in Revelation as the Day of the Lord wrath that will come unexpectedly upon the people of the world.

For believers that are awake, however, this day will not surprise them “like a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:4). Why is that?

First, we recognize the signs of this coming day, and they are everywhere we look.

Second, the apostle promises that the Lord will come for us before this day in 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10:

“For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.”

This is joyous news for all of us that are securely in Christ. We may suffer between now and the Rapture, but the Bible tells us that the Rapture will happen before the astronomically high death toll of Revelation 6:8 occurs. That’s day of the Lord stuff, and according to Paul, the Rapture must happen before that.

My wife and are, bit by bit, adding to our reserve of food; we believe that a crisis is coming and want to both be prepared and in a position to help others who are not as able to prepare. Our prayer is that if we do not need our added supply because of the Rapture, a tribulation saint might find our home.

Maranatha! Come soon, Lord Jesus!

My book, The Triumph of the Redeemed-An eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times, is available on Amazon. In this book, I vigorously defend why our hope rests in a pretribulation Rapture!

Note: Please consider signing up for my newsletter on the home page of my website at https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/. It will greatly help me in reaching more people. Thanks!

Website: Our Journey Home

[i] New York Post Online article, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warns an economic ‘hurricane’ is coming, at https://nypost.com/2022/06/01/jpmorgan-ceo-jamie-dimon-warns-an-economic-hurricane-is-coming/

[ii] Michael Snyder, 4 Really Big Names That Are Warning That Major Economic Disaster Is Ahead, June 6, 2022, on his Economic Collapse Blog, @ http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/4-really-big-names-that-are-warning-that-major-economic-disaster-is-ahead/

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] Britt Gillette, The Coming Financial Collapse and the Great Reset, on his End Times Bible Prophecy website.

[v] Fox Business online: https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/goya-ceo-warns-world-on-precipice-of-food-crisis

[vi] Leo Hohmann on Telegram

[vii] Michael Snyder, More Major Disasters Hit U.S. Food Production – Are You Prepared For What Comes Next? June 15, 2022, at: https://endoftheamericandream.com/more-major-disasters-hit-u-s-food-production-are-you-prepared-for-what-comes-next/

[viii] Joseph Mercola, How Bad Will the Food Shortage Get? June 27, 2022 https://www.theepochtimes.com/how-bad-will-the-food-shortage-get_4559748.html?utm_source=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2022-06-29-1&utm_medium=email&est=4zzSD3WOVaM%2BIDQ7PL4FXWKUEnKUIR%2FTfwVsKss6%2Bha0ziz1xTN%2FFZN7vfAB8NX%2BVQOPYpAM

[ix] Alana Semuels, Inflation is Going to Get Worse. Blame a Lack of Diesel, May 31, 2022, on the Time Magazine web page @: https://time.com/6182262/diesel-shortage-inflation/

[x] Isabel Van Brugen, Is There a Diesel Exhaust Fuel Shortage in The U.S? June 15, 2022, @ https://www.newsweek.com/diesel-exhaust-fuel-shortage-us-drivers-fuel-prices-russia-ukraine-war-1716503

[xi] Michael Snyder

[xii] Joseph Mercola