The Ministry of Truth

There is growing fixation on the part of various organizations to control people’s access to information. They are of the mindset that all data needs to pass through a filter before it reaches the public. Because they have granted themselves a monopoly on truth, they are able to separate fact from fiction.

In the past several months, several journalist institutes have released “blacklists” of media outlets they deemed as “unreliable.” One list created by an employee of the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center overwhelmingly contains conservative news media outlets. This mirrors the SPLC’s “hate group” list, which contains mainstream conservative organizations alongside racist organizations.

The SPLC once did important work filing civil rights lawsuits against the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s. But it has become a caricature of itself, labeling virtually anyone who does not fall in line with its left-wing ideology an “extremist” or “hate group.” When it was recently announced that SPLC was rampaged with institutional racism and sexual harassment of employees, the liberal media ignored the charges. The press continues to use SPLC as the go-to authority on hate.

The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, a Florida-based nonprofit journalism school, released its own list that declared dozens of mainstream conservative sites such as the Washington Free Beacon, Daily Caller, Daily Signal, CNS News, and Breitbart as “unreliable” while listing a few liberal sites. After receiving complaints, Poynter conducted an audit and “found weaknesses in the methodology” used to categorize 515 news sites, according to a letter from editor Barbara Allen. “We regret that we failed to ensure that the data was rigorous before publication, and apologize for the confusion and agitation caused by its publication,” Allen wrote.

Facebook has been in the doghouse ever since it was alleged that Russia helped the Trump campaign. Nobody cared that the social media site was openly supporting Obama. Chris Hughes, who co-founded Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg, is calling for the firm to be broken up:

“Because Facebook so dominates social networking, it faces no market-based accountability,” Hughes argues. “This means that every time Facebook messes up, we repeat an exhausting pattern: first outrage, then disappointment and, finally, resignation.” Facebook, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, lacks true competition, Hughes writes; Mark Zuckerberg has too much unchecked control over the company’s direction and the content posted by its users. “Mark’s power is unprecedented and un-American,” Hughes says, in a strident turn.

At this point, Zuckerberg would likely welcome a body to regulate Facebook’s content. I’m sure the SPLC is eager to help the site to determine which members and organizations are fit to have active accounts. Facebook is already doing everything it can to limit Christians’ access to social media.

The obsession with being the gatekeepers has begun to reach into the financial world. Anti-Islam activists Tommy Robinson, YouTuber Sargon of Akkad, and Alex Jones of Infowars have all been banned from various financial sites. I am amazed that people have not reacted to this fascist tactic. Yeah, I think Alex Jones is a nut job, but we are clearly headed down a dangerous path by him being blocked from receiving payments.

The activist group SumOfUs has successfully forced Mastercard to hold a vote by shareholders on a proposal which, if passed, could see the company monitoring payments to global far-right political leaders. It would see the formation of a “human rights committee” at the board level, which would monitor financial transactions with designated hate groups. If you are opposed to the Progressive liberal agenda, SumOfUs thinks you should be added to the hate list.

It greatly distresses me to see Rapture Ready being restricted by internet giants. Our enemies’ compulsion does offer me some comfort. With the mark of the beast system rapidly taking shape, the time of the Anti-Christ’s arrival must be very near. Since we leave this world 3 1/2 years before he comes to full power, the rapture is far more urgent.

“He causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name….” (Rev 13:16-18).

–Todd

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Discernment All-Important

This world has gone crazy–completely nuts!

How many times lately have you thought or said that, or heard someone else make such an observation? I, myself, make it on an almost daily basis these days. I discern that these are the most out-of-control times I’ve observed in 76 years of life. I really mean that. There are things happening today within this nation the likes of which I’ve never witnessed.

• Things like a former pediatrician, now governor of a state, approving and even pushing that babies scheduled for abortion be legally murdered if they survive the procedure and are born.
• Things like men marrying men and women marrying women, with approval and even smiles of elation by many in the nation.
• Things like grown men being allowed to use public toilet facilities at the same time little girls and women are using the same facilities–all because the man supposedly is conflicted about his gender.
• Things like an 18-year-old young man with his underage transgender friend who is trying to turn into being a male shooting up a public elementary school because he hates Christians and President Trump.
• Things like the mainstream media that totally ignores this hate-filled act against Christians, yet engages in 24/7 coverage if such murderous hate is directed at Muslims.
• Things like sanctuary cities giving every amenity through tax dollars to illegal aliens, even those who murder citizens of those cities.
• Things like people, because of political ideology, who are so-called comedians or entertainers being allowed to talk about wanting to assassinate a president and not being arrested.
• Things like drug users and others being allowed to defecate and urinate on public streets in San Francisco and strew used drug needles in children’s playgrounds, all the while receiving protection from those cities’ governments that allow them to do so.
• Things like allowing a few Millennials who think America is the cause of all the world’s problems, because they have been taught this insanity through a now-perverted educational system, to change a major political party from one merely liberal to completely reprobate and anti-God.
• Things like a congressional committee chairman who hates the president demanding that the attorney general of the United States break the law and give him information that the law forbids him receiving–else holding the AG in contempt of Congress.
• Things like the Democrat speaker of the house being at the head of the party who has broken constitutional law at every juncture as part of the Trump Derangement Syndrome and yet accusing the president as being one who acts contrary to the Constitution of the United States.
• Things like the entire mainstream media, both news and entertainment, being totally against a president based only on the fact that he beat the candidate they wanted to be president.
• Things like that same media, the Democrat Party and even a number of those who claim to be part of the president’s party so hating him that they supported, and continue to do so, outright lies and a vile, fake dossier they themselves cooked up to try to ruin his presidency.
• Things like the top echelon of America’s FBI, CIA, and others of the intelligence services going along and even being complicit in these efforts to try a coup against a president who has inarguably lifted the nation economically, militarily, and, I’m of the opinion, in other ways.
• Things like those who mention the name of Jesus Christ and the need for the lost of the world to receive the grace of His redemptive act on the cross being called “haters”–and even being prosecuted for hate speech.
• Things like the tiny nation of Israel being assaulted by enemies all around, yet world opinion blaming the Jewish state for the hatred against it.
• Things like today’s rise of anti-Semitism, with the Holocaust and the anti-Semitism that spawned the Nazi regime not far back in the world’s collective memory.

I’m sure you can think of even more egregious examples of the madness of this strange age.

All of this is to make the point that we are at a time where those who name the name of Christ should strive to appropriate discernment as never before. This generation is observably bumping up against the very end of the Age of Grace–the Church Age.

Jesus said the following to the Judaizers–the Pharisees and Sadducees who mocked Him and asked for “a sign” that He was the Messiah even though Jesus had performed and was even then performing miracles and wonders prophesied by Israel’s prophets long before Christ’s time on earth.

When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? (Matthew 16:2-3)

All Christians have within themselves the ability to discern the signals of Christ’s soon bringing an end to this world system. This is a gift from the Creator to those who love Him. It is a distinguishing mark that separates the believer from the nonbeliever. Again, Paul wrote under inspiration of the Holy Spirit who indwells each and every believer.

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

This is why Bible prophecy–eschatology, the study of end things–is so important. God has provided a road map of generally what to look for as we travel the course toward the end of the age. The Christian–the spiritually-attuned believer–can discern these weird, troubling times unfolding around us.

It is with this preface that I herein announce my next book. The title will be Discerners: Analyzing Converging Prophetic Signs for the End of Days.

We are working hard to produce this volume. It will be what I believe–based upon the brilliantly written chapters by the authors I’ve read so far–a book that has been given us by the Lord to present at this crucial time. I’m greatly inspired by what the sixteen authors–some of the best known writers, broadcasters, teachers, and ministers–have to say about discerning these times in which we are privileged to live.

We hope to have the book ready by July and will keep you informed. We will ask for as many preorders as possible. We want to get this book into the hands of many, many pastors and teachers as well as into the hands of each of you who want to be discerners like the Lord Jesus Himself obviously exhorts us to be.

–Terry

We Are Living in Violent Times

It is stunning how violent American society has become in the last few years. What is most saddening is how quickly we become desensitized to the new level of violence. We wonder what has become of society when someone murders 30 people at a university, and then we are all the more dismayed when someone murders a larger number of people in a gay disco and then a country music concert.

The 1959 Clutter murders are a very useful milestone in showing how violent our nation has become. In Cold Blood is a non-fiction novel by American author Truman Capote, first published in 1966; it details the murders of four members of the Herbert Clutter family in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas.

It’s amazing to realize that the killing of four individuals was able to captivate the nation for several years. Today, the murder of four or more family members occurs several times a year.

Last month, seven people were killed in the Tennessee community of Westmoreland. Michael Lee Cummins, 25, is suspected of killing six people in one home and a seventh victim at a second location. All seven victims were beaten to death by Cummins, including his parents and a 12-year-old girl. Even though this was the deadliest homicide event in Tennessee in at least 20 years, it hardly got any news coverage. The newsrooms in New York collectively decided that no one cares about the deaths of a bunch of Tennessee hicks.

It’s not just the quantity of murder that shows how bad things are getting. Where it takes place reflects on the rising level of violence. When I was young, it never entered your mind that you would face gunfire in a house of worship. Sitting in a pew, the general view was that you had an equal chance of being hit by a meteorite as being hit by a bullet.

The unthinkable has become reality as religious centers are now fair game for violence. In seven months’ time there have been two major shootings at synagogues: the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburg and the Chabad of Poway synagogue near San Diego.

Another thing that needs to be noticed is the change in the nature of the person behind the gun. Going back to the In Cold Blood killers, Richard Eugene “Dick” Hickock and Perry Edward Smith were ex-convicts recently paroled from the Kansas State Penitentiary. It is easy to see why they turn to murder and robbery. John Earnest was the gunman in the Poway synagogue shooting. He had no criminal record. He described himself this way: “I’m just a normal dude who wanted to have a family, help and heal people, and play piano.” It is just pure madness for Earnest to say he needed to kill Jews because there is “no other option.”

The liberal media deserve much of the blame for the normalization of violence. It has a set agenda for downplaying bloodshed. The nation of Mexico has had record murder rates in 2017 and 2018. The press covered up the violence because it didn’t want Pres. Trump to be able to cite the stats as justification for his wall. The liberal media don’t have a logical reason for why they minimize the violent acts of Muslims. The press does this because it is run by evil people.

2 Timothy 3:1:3 warns us “that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves…” and “Without natural affection.” One of the most distressing examples of the lack of natural love is parents that murder their own children. This week I ran across a story about a stepfather who intentionally shot his daughter in the chest with a pellet gun because she stole food. I was dumbfounded that this man thought this nearly fatal form of child abuse was the proper way to administer discipline.

God is in full control of all world events. As we get closer to the tribulation hour, the Lord is slowly granting Satan more freedom. We won’t know what level of wickedness will trigger the rapture, but know it must be very near.

“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).

–Todd

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Never again!…?

While platitudes flow from the political left, claiming that their ideology as the most compassionate, the most tolerant, it’s U.S. Mecca is showing otherwise. As a matter of fact, the city that never sleeps has apparently awakened in ways thought headed for extinction.

Antisemitism is manifesting significantly in New York City, according to a report by the New York Police Department. The report claims a tremendous rise in crimes against Jews and in acts involving crimes of hate in general.

The New York Police Department has reported a massive increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes in the city, with the data showing an 82% increase in such incidents in the first three months of 2019. The Anti-Defamation League’s 2018 audit of anti-Semitic incidents published earlier this week found that there was an even bigger rise of anti-Semitic hate crime in New York State – an increase of 170% from the third to the fourth quarter of 2018.

In the latest in the ongoing series of incidents of harassment and assault against Jews in New York, a passerby spat at and cursed a Jewish man in Brooklyn on Wednesday, an incident which was captured on video and published on social media.

“The data released by NYPD today is deeply disturbing and should serve as an important reminder to all of us that we must continue to be vigilant in the face of hate,” said Evan R. Bernstein, ADL NY/NJ Regional Director. (“Massive 82% spike in anti-Semitic hate crimes in New York City, NYPD finds,” by Jeremy Sharon, Jerusalem Post, May 3, 2019)

Such rise of antisemitism is not unique to New York. Our news sources have been parading such reports for years across our daily headlines. The percentage of incidents have ratcheted up in hockey-stick fashion across the globe during recent weeks.

The breakout of hatred for Jews, not coincidentally, comes during time of a tremendous rise in Islamic populations across Europe and other places. All one has to do is to consider the dynamics taking place within the U.S. House of Representatives to understand that America and the world face troubles just ahead. They are troubles that are prophesied in God’s Word.

Rants against Israel and, tacitly, against the Jewish race by a newly elected Muslim congresswoman give focus to the mounting evidence of the coming time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7). The rants come from an elected representative whose constituency views Israel and Jews as the central catalyst for most all the problems across the world. The Democrat Party Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi–and, for that matter, all of those in Congress–can’t or won’t govern the Muslim woman’s caustic rhetoric against Israel and Jews.

They, instead, do everything to accommodate her wants and needs as a Muslim–for example, throwing out rules against headwear while in session, allowing her to wear her Islamic headdress.

They tolerate her vitriolic spewing of hate, while they and the mainstream media do their best to cover up any mention of Muslim involvement in the many jihad attacks that have been inflicted on thousands throughout the recent decades. We are castigated by those media types anytime we mention the words “Islam” or “Muslim” in conjunction with such hate crimes. We remember recently when both Shepard Smith and Neil Cavuto of FOX News cut off guests when they mentioned Islam as a problem within this context.

American presidents and American congressional members throughout the years since the conclusion of World War II in 1945 joined the Israelis in echoing their declaration, “Never again!”

So, what is happening? The dynamics have changed. The tolerance seems only for those who are adamantly against the Jews–and, for that matter, against Christians. The left goes deafeningly silent when Christians across the world are persecuted, tortured, and murdered. These same “tolerant” within Washington officialdom go ballistic when Israel does what is necessary to protect its people. Muslims should, these anti-Israel political ideologues shout, be allowed to do whatsoever they wish to the Jewish military forces defending the country, because they are being oppressed and kept from taking over their rightful homeland–though Israel’s right to the land is based on longstanding biblical and historical facts.

All of this points to the coming second holocaust–the one that will be instituted by Antichrist, planet earth’s final and most terrible tyrant.

The pledge “Never Again!” in regard to saying genocide against the Jewish people will never again be allowed will be overruled for a short time by the beast of Revelation 13. But, the God of Heaven says “Never Again!” too. We can be assured that pledge will be kept. Israel will never again be removed from her land. Israel will survive and thrive to become the head of all nations for Christ’s millennial reign.

“Behold, he that kept Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalms 121:4).

–Terry