The State of News Today

About 20 years ago, 70% of the news we posted on the Rapture Ready News page came from a link found on Yahoo.com. About 10% of other news links came from CNN.com. Today, we rarely ever use Yahoo or CNN as a news source.

These two sites have become so biased in their news coverage, the vast majority of their articles contain leftist propaganda. You could be reading a news item about wildfires in California, and it would blame Republicans for causing the fires because they have doubts about climate change.

Some news articles from mainstream media sites are basically true; however, we can’t use them on RR because they’re written in the nastiest tone possible. In that case, I’ll look for a conservative site that covered the same subject.

I just took a fresh look at Yahoo news, and I found four articles that had negative news stories about former President Donald Trump. Over the past six years, Yahoo has probably posted 10,000 articles about him, and every one of them has been negative. Their writing is so predictable, I don’t know why they even bother to create a news story. They should just post: “Orange man bad” and leave it at that.

Yahoo could just as well fire all its reporters and replace them with software that only posts negative things about Republicans. You probably only need 10 lines of code to fish out the following two quotes:

Schumer said there is a ‘rot at the center’ of the Republican Party while making a speech to advance the For the People Act in the Senate on Tuesday. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said there is a “rot at the center of the modern Republican Party” over efforts to restrict voting after former President Donald Trump’s “big lie” of voter fraud in the 2020 election.

Mitch McConnell held his entire Republican caucus together to effectively kill the Democrats’ highest legislative priority of the year, a transformative 888-page bill intended to make it easier to vote, rein in the wealthy’s impact on elections and outlaw the gerrymandering process that constructs partisan congressional districts.

Right now, NBC’s Saturday Night Live is in reruns until this fall. Last year the show would make lame jokes about Trump, and the news media would report these jokes as being news. Yes, the radical leftist SNL would make fun of Trump, and for some odd reason, this would be seen as newsworthy by other leftist news outlets.

With the mainstream media having become useless as a source for news, we’ve had to turn to secondary news outlets for reports on world events. Some of our viewers think that we should not post news articles from sites that they disagree with. The site I get the most complaints about is Natural News over its anti-Covid-19 vaccine articles.

About a month ago, Natural News ran a story that misquoted a French virologist, claiming he said everyone who had gotten a vaccine would be dead in two years. We obviously didn’t post this on RR because it would be silly to think 2.6 billion are going to die in the next couple years. Otherwise, I allow stories about people getting the vaccine and then dying to be posted because I think it’s useful information.

If there was something seriously wrong with the COVID-19 vaccine, the liberal media is not going to tell us. Jeff Bezos kicked a doctors’ organization off his AWS server service because he didn’t like the views it had about the vaccine. If anyone dares suggest the possibility that the virus may have escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology lab, all the press will come after them.

The days are now long gone when you could trust the news to be 95% correct. For a growing number of subjects, truth is determined by the political views of the news article’s author. It seems that even with many conservative sites, their news should be listed in the opinion sections.

I find it very regrettable that we now have to question the reliability of all news. This is to be expected for the time we live in. The devil has been able to freely sow lies because we are in the last of the last days.

“The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is at the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world…. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just” (Matthew 13:39-40, 49).

–Todd

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Trending Temple Tensions

Author’s Note: I use some text, to some extent in this article, from my recent book with Tom Horn—ANTICHRIST and the Final Solution.

It is the most contested land in all the world. Diplomats fear it is the one place on earth that could ignite war that couldn’t be stopped. If conflict ever got started over this piece of real estate, nuclear exchanges could ultimately result in and bring about World War III.

God Himself considers this promontory the most important point on the planet. In Heaven’s economy, it is His touchstone to His creation called man.

All of this was fulfillment of prophecy. Daniel the prophet was told centuries earlier that the city, Jerusalem, and the sanctuary, the Jewish Temple, would be completely thrown down, with not one stone left upon another (Daniel 9: 26–27). The Temple Mount remains without a Temple of God until this day.

Muslim structures dot the flattened surface, with the Dome of the Rock, the golden, domed structure so familiar to anyone who has seen Jerusalem’s skyline, the central feature.

Tensions between Jews and Muslims constitute the fuse that makes this landmark the singular most volatile point on earth.

The Jewish Temple will, God’s Word promises, again dominate the promontory. But the next Temple—the Third Temple—will be the center of history’s most horrific era, the Tribulation, also known as “Daniel’s seventieth week.”

The Temple that Solomon built had at its heart the Holy of Holies, a 15-foot cubed inner sanctum wherein sat the Ark of the Covenant, the elaborately prepared container wherein the shekinah glory, the very presence of God, would dwell.

That spot is still somewhere upon the Temple Mount—Mt. Moriah, most scholars believe. Religious Jews still are afraid to walk upon the Temple Mount grounds for fear of accidentally treading upon that one spot on earth where God chose to reside.

The Temple and the Holy of Holies constituted God’s touchstone to humanity—and particularly to the Jews. It is the place where Abraham was to offer Isaac, before God intervened with the ram caught by its horns in a thicket, thus providing the sacrifice Abraham made to the God of Heaven.

Not far from the spot of the Holy of Holies is Golgotha, where the Son of God—Jesus the Christ, the once-and-for-all sacrifice for all the sins of mankind—hung on the cross. When Christ died, the veil in the Temple’s Holy of Holies tore from top to bottom, giving man direct access to God the Father through that sin-sacrifice, God’s only Begotten Son.

There will be a Third Temple built at a future time, Bible prophecy says.

The Third Temple is foretold to be in place during the last seven years of human history prior to Christ’s return.

Exactly when the Third Temple will be built is an unknown factor. The prophetic Word tells only that it will exist during the seven years of Tribulation—specifically, at the three and one-half-year mark of those seven years.

Many who study the Third Temple matter believe that structure must begin well in advance of the Tribulation era. The completion of such an edifice, they believe, will take quite a measure of time. Others hold that the Jews are even now contemplating the building of a tent-like structure like Moses’ tabernacle.

They believe that worship, with sacrifices reinstituted, could be going on in such a place while the more grandiose Temple is constructed around the temporary structure.

With such history and Biblical prophecy that is involved with this place called the Temple Mount, then, it is no wonder that at this late hour we see such tensions developing. Satan and his minions—both supernatural and human—are determined to exert earthly power and authority over this promontory chosen by God to bring salvation to the fallen human race.

And tension there is at this late hour of the age.

The following report chronicles those mounting troubles.

Clashes broke out between Border Police and Palestinian worshipers at the Temple Mount on Friday, Israel Police said in a statement.

Video footage taken at the compound shows Palestinians throwing rocks at a unit of Border Police officers, who in turn responded with firing rubber bullets to quell the unrest.

Nine Palestinians were injured, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Israel Police notes that the clashes began after Friday afternoon prayers, when several hundred worshipers made their way into the compound via the Chain Gate.

At the end of prayers, several dozen youths began to throw stones at the police officers stationed at the entrance to the compound.

The Jerusalem District Commander of the Border Police force ordered officers to locate suspects involved in disturbing the peace.

Police said 16 people were arrested for throwing stones and rioting.

The unrest occurred after the Air Force conducted airstrikes on Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip on Thursday night in response to Palestinians continuing to launch arson balloon attacks against Israeli communities near the strip.

Clashes at the Temple Mount were one of the purported reasons that Hamas and its allied terror groups in the Gaza Strip began firing the opening salvos resulting in the IDF’s Operation Guardian of the Walls, and have since warned that Jerusalem is a “red line.”…

Meanwhile, violent confrontations erupted between Palestinians and IDF soldiers near Beita in the West Bank, with at least 47 Palestinians hurt from tear gas inhalation and rubber-tipped bullets, according to the Red Crescent. (“Temple Mount: Clashes Breakout between Israeli Police, Palestinians,” Jerusalem Post, Israel News, June 18, 2021)

An excellent video analyzing the situation can be accessed at the following:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LorcGu0OxlA

Israel and in particular the Temple Mount are at the very heart of Bible prophecy yet future. Things developing at a tremendous pace must certainly mean that major fulfillment for the wind-up of the age is at hand.

Again, it is crucial that we alert our family, friends and all within our spheres of influence that they must know Jesus Christ for salvation to avoid the most terrible times of human history just ahead.

That heavenly formula for escape of that coming Tribulation and from Hell for eternity is the following:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)

–Terry

The Great “Mega-Drought” of 2021

Many Western states are in the grips of a drought that is starting to have a major impact on the local economy. The dry period has lasted so long, it has been given the rank of “Mega-Drought.” A return to normal moisture levels would require months of heavy rainfall.

According to The Weather Channel, 89% of the Western U.S. is experiencing drought conditions. More than half — about 55% — of the West is experiencing the highest levels of “extreme” and exceptional” drought.

The state of North Dakota is in the second-worst level of drought, and ranchers are auctioning off their cattle by the thousands.

“Normally this time of the year, we’re probably looking at 400-600 head, and a lot of times would be every other week,” said former auctioneer Ron Torgerson.

Recently, more than 4,200 head of cattle were sold at Rugby Livestock and Auction during a two-day sale. Needless to say, ranchers in North Dakota don’t want to get rid of their cattle, but the drought has pushed prices for hay and corn so high that many of them simply have no choice.

Feeder Cattle prices have declined as herds are being sent to the slaughterhouse. As cattle herds shrink all over the western half of the country, beef prices will move significantly higher a few months down the road.

Record heat during the past few weeks has yielded no shortage of horror stories. Almond growers have lost whole orchards, and 17 million endangered salmon are being shipped to the sea because rivers are too hot to navigate.

Meanwhile, the drought continues to push the water level in Lake Mead into the danger zone. According to CBS News, Lake Mead has hit the “lowest level ever recorded.” Since most Western states get nearly zero amounts of rain during the summer, Lake Mead will continue to dry up for several months.

Formed in 1937 by the construction of the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the U.S. The reservoir supplies water to 25 million people in Los Angeles, San Diego, Tucson and Las Vegas, per Reuters. Lake Mead has not been full since 2000, with water levels falling 140 vertical feet since then, and it is currently at just 36 percent of capacity.

The ability to produce electrical power at Hoover Dam has become a concern. Lake Mead has dropped so much that it has cut the dam’s hydropower output by nearly 25%. At some point, the dam could stop producing electricity altogether.

For the first time ever, the federal government is expected to declare a water shortage on the lower Colorado River later this summer. That will force automatic cuts to the water supply for Nevada and Arizona starting in 2022. Homeowners have higher priority and, at first, won’t feel the pain as badly as farmers will.

Dan Thelander is a second-generation family farmer in Arizona’s Pinal County. The water to grow his corn and alfalfa fields comes from Lake Mead. “If we don’t have irrigation water, we can’t farm,” he said. “So, next year, we are going to get about 25% less water; [this] means we’re going to have to fallow or not plant 25% of our land.”

Unless something changes, Thelander and other farmers in the region could potentially have all water cut off in 2023. That is just two years away.

Farmers in California are in far worse shape. Some have already been informed that they will not be getting any water allocated to them at all here in 2021. It is being projected that farmers in the state will not grow anything on 500,000 acres this year; that is really bad news because California grows more than a third of our vegetables and two-thirds of our fruits and nuts.

California’s groundwater situation is another factor that is putting pressure on food production. For decades, groundwater was pumped with no statewide limits. As the water level dropped, farmers have been drilling deeper wells to suck out more water to plant. We are now at a point where the groundwater levels are so low, many fields cannot be planted without access to surface water.

As I look back over the past decade, there has not been a single year that did not have a major disaster. Judging from 2020 and 2021, it now appears we are going to have multi disasters for any given future year. Since the tribulation hour will likely have monthly disasters, the rapture must be very near.

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28).

–Todd

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The Grasping Evil

I preface this commentary by giving credit to my good friend and colleague, Bill Salus, for his recent email newsletter with the subject Top 20 Pre-Tribulation Prophecies.

As usual, I found his analysis to be on the biblical mark—even considering my disagreement with his belief that Psalm 83 is a war involving Israel that precedes the Gog-Magog attack. As I’ve stated in that regard, he could well be right and I wrong on the matter.

Bill gave some good news about the assurance Bible prophecy from the Pre-Trib perspective offers, followed by some bad news for nonbelievers.

About the good news, he offers the following:

The Church is:

• Saved from the wrath through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:8–9).
• Delivered from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
• Not appointed to the wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:7-10).
• Kept from the “hour of trial” of the Tribulation (Revelation 3:10–11)
• We are to comfort one another about the blessed hope of the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:18).

About the troubling side, he says:

The bad news is that believers have loved ones who are presently unsaved and at risk of being left behind to experience the most perilous seven years in all of post-Flood history.

Bill then speaks to the attitude that some Christians have developed. The particular attitude he mentions is what I wish to address in this commentary.

He states the following, paraphrasing the words of certain believers, then issuing precaution:

“I DON’T CARE: ‘I’ll be Raptured, so why should I worry about such things that don’t concern me?’”

I would encourage someone who has adopted this position to first realize that you may be here to endure some of the Pre-Tribulation prophecies. If you face off with one or more of these powerful predictions, you will undoubtedly be forced to care! Therefore, be cautious not to get caught up in the trap of thinking that the rest of your days will be persecution free.

Bill Salus’ words are well placed while we observe these darkening times. His admonition hearkens me back to a series of services we called “revival meetings.” I’ve mentioned this a number of times before.

I vividly remember sitting at our First Baptist Church in the mid-1970s. A short-in-stature evangelist was the speaker for those five days of meetings. Each night, he wore a different colored leisure suit—lime green, day-glow orange, bright red, etc. Some of the readers here will remember those flamboyant garments. We joked about his flashy dress, but we didn’t joke about his messages. They were straight from the heart of God, it was progressively obvious as the week proceeded.

The last night of the revival meeting, the evangelist made a prediction that sticks to the memory like rubber cement to two pieces of paper.

He said, “I believe that before Christ calls the Church in the Rapture, this government in America will be reaching with powerfully evil fingers for the throats of Christians. Just as those fingers are about to close on the necks of believers, Christ will blow the trumpet.”

He believed 100 percent in the imminence of Christ’s call to the Church, but he nonetheless issued that prediction. I’ve never forgotten it.

There was no such virulent threat during that mid-’70s time. Such a thing was unthinkable. But here we are in 2021 and developments trending dramatically in the direction he predicted are clearly in view.

Our neighbors to the north in Canada are already starting to feel that icy grip, and that chilling grasp can be sensed even in our nation.

As Bill Salus has admonished, we must not remain indifferent just because we know we will be kept from the most horrendous time to come.

We must do all we can to fight those grasping, evil governmental fingers with prayer and with civil action as provided by the means our Founding Fathers provided under God’s great guidance.

Most of all, we must carry forth with the Great Commission the Lord Jesus commanded just before lifting into the heavens.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19–20)

–Terry