Pittsburgh Tragedy Demonstrates How Everything Can Be Politicized

The deadliest anti-Semitic shooting in American history occurred at a Pittsburgh synagogue. The gunman, Robert Bowers, killed 11 people and injured several others, which included four policemen. Bowers is a Trump-hating anti-Semite who regularly complained on social media about the president and ‘the infestation of Jews.’ The shooter tweeted, “There is no #MAGA as long as there is a kike infestation.”

With lightning speed, the liberal media blamed President Trump and fellow Republicans for the attack. We now live in a day where political operatives will rush to the scene of every tragedy to leverage it for political gain. The left spews out instant judgments against its political opponents even though no real evidence backs their claims.

Donald Trump has been one of the best friends the Jewish people could hope for. He is by far the most pro-Israel president in American history – and has spoken in glowing terms about Jews and in harsh terms against anti-Semitism. He demonstrated leadership by moving our embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Here are his own words in response to the Pittsburgh attack:

“Anti-Semitism and the widespread persecution of Jews represent one of the ugliest and darkest features in human history. Anti-Semitism must be condemned and confronted everywhere and anywhere it appears.”

When Jews were being murdered during President Obama’s term, he would only offer milquetoast rhetoric. Obama would simply lump in Jew-hatred with all other types of hatred. This is the same Obama who once labeled an anti-Semitic attack on a kosher French supermarket as a “random” attack.

It is just insane for the press to be able to use these dead Jewish victims as a ploy in their leftist agenda. I watched an ABC news report, and they dwelled on trivial matters by questioning why Trump had not cancelled his campaign events. They needed the smelling salts when Trump suggested that lives could have been saved if someone had a gun. Even though Bowers had stated that Trump was a Jew lover, the liberal media still put further the suggestion that Trump’s tone had egged him on.

One of the most disgusting things the press does is recruit victims to attack Trump. Monday morning, in one of his first appearances following the horrific attack on his synagogue, CNN’s Alisyn Camerota tried to cajole Rabbi Jeffrey Myers into blaming President Donald Trump for the shooting.

Camerota asked Myers if he blamed anyone “beyond the gunman” for Saturday’s attack. He responded that the fault lies with the shooter. “I don’t really foist blame upon any person,” Myers said. “Hate does not know religion, race, creed, political party. It’s not a political issue in any way, shape, or form. Hate does not know any of those things.”

Unsatisfied with his answer, Camerota again prodded, “What lights the match of hate? … Can hate be cultivated?” The Rabbi refused to take her bait.

The interview turned into a disaster for CNN when Myers said, “The President of the United States is always welcome. I’m a citizen. He’s my president. He is certainly welcome.” Because the Rabbi gave the “wrong message,” no other news service carried the story.

The liberal media quickly found a Jewish group that was willing to follow their narrative. The New York Times quoted a message from Bend The Arc, a group that claimed to represent Pittsburgh Jewish leaders. They issued the following statement:

“President Trump, you are not welcome in Pittsburgh until you fully denounce white nationalism. Our Jewish community is not the only group you have targeted. You have also deliberately undermined the safety of people of color, Muslims, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities.”

Bend The Arc is a political sham operation. The group is merely a leftist political action group run by Alexander Soros, George Soros’ son. Their stated mission is “rising up in solidarity with everyone threatened by the Trump agenda to fight for the soul of our nation.” Their missions include the election of “progressive champions” and the implementation of “progressive legislation and policies, like criminal justice reform and economic equity.”

The director of Bend The Arc was Hadar Susskind, formerly a staffer at the anti-Semitic front group J Street, which spends its days attempting to undermine the safety and security of the state of Israel. The press failed to mention the name George Soros because it might remind people of the guy who helped the Nazis exterminate his own people.

I don’t think any other racial group would allow themselves to be exploited in this manner. The Jewish people suffer from a level of spiritual blindness that defies logical explanation. The Lord predicts that they will soon come to the point where they emerge from darkness into light, but it will be a time of great distress.

I rejoice each day that I am part of a group that sees the danger and knows that God will soon deliver us from this sin-stained world.

“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them” (John 12:40).

“But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

–Todd

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Mad as Hell

It was somewhat shocking, what happened while “watching” the Lou Dobbs program on Fox Business Network a week or so ago. (Technically, being blind, I was “listening” rather than “watching.”) I heard Lou’s guest say the words “I am as mad as Hell!”.

Now, even Mr. Dobb’s wife, he has confided on the program, has gotten onto him for using during the broadcast what we might consider the milder cuss words in today’s vernacular. But, it wasn’t the show’s host who used the word this time.

Lou’s guest was Dr. Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of the megachurch, First Baptist of Dallas, who uttered the word. That it was Dr. Jeffress who said it was slightly jolting.

As I recall, the topic revolved around the upcoming midterm elections. Specifically, it was about the vitriol the mainstream news conglomerate continues to spew against President Donald J. Trump. The host and Dr. Jeffress agreed that every effort was being made by the leftist cabal, consisting of the mainstream news and entertainment media and the Democrat Party, to demonize the president and all who adhere to his Make America Great Again agenda.

The pastor said something along the lines of, “The voters are angry. In this election, they might say, through their collective vote, something like was uttered in the old movie, Network. Like when the guy said, ‘I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.'”

I’m not here casting a condemning glance at Pastor Jeffress. I have said worse–like the other morning when I knocked the “I Love New York” coffee mug given me by my much beloved, honorary, granddaughter from my desk and broke the handle. So, I certainly have no room to cast aspersions.

The quotation Dr. Jeffress used to express the need for voters to fight the political evil going on, ironically, was made by the character who was a network news anchor, Howard Beale, played by Peter Finch. He had become somewhat senile and was being removed as anchor. The character, during his broadcast, urged all to take action. He shouted, “I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell, ‘I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!’ Things have got to change!”

There is a lot wrapped up in that term, ”mad as Hell.” To be in that state of mind is, I am certain, beyond any mindset one can conjure.

To be that angry implies that the mindset has been reached like that of those who are in that eternal, infernal place. To anyone who has read Inferno by Dante Alighieri, the briefest glimpse of the madness might be achieved. But, being of human authorship, the descriptions of that fictional Hell can provide fodder for but the slightest imagining of what must be the reality.

The ultimate madness that is the final result of turning away from the God of Heaven comes to fruition in that place called Hell. But the mindset that determines to turn one’s back on the Almighty begins at birth. We are born sinful creatures–lost from our very conception because of original sin. When we mature to the point that we can know we must accept or reject God’s offer of redeeming grace, and when we choose the latter, the madness–spiritual and eventually mental–begins to fester. It incubates growing sinfulness–rebellion against Heaven and all that is righteous. Turning one’s back to the Lord of Heaven moves one down the road of madness as framed by the Apostle Paul.

We have looked at the scriptural condemnation before. Here it is again to reinforce with biblical description where I’m convinced this generation of the anti-God rebels is positioned:

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful. (Romans 1:28-31)

We have witnessed these anti-God characteristics grow and play out within American society and culture in recent decades. The madness has increased and the reprobate mindset Paul alludes to truly dominates the national political landscape at this very moment. For whatever time is left in this dispensation of grace, we must wrestle–God’s way–against the powers and principalities, against the wickedness in high places, as given in Ephesians 6:12.

The specific, God-ordained way to do so as we face this time of determining which way the United States will choose is to earnestly pray according to 2 Chronicles 7: 14–then to vote against the madness assaulting America.

–Terry

Satan’s End-Time Mobs

A caravan of an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 Central Americans is slowly making its way toward the distant U.S. border. The press is saying these people are fleeing violence and poverty in their homelands. Since it’s very strange to have such a large number of people to suddenly decide they want to walk 2,000 miles, some organization is likely funding this march.

President Donald Trump has vowed to begin curtailing millions of dollars in American aid to three Central American nations and called the caravan bound for the United States a national emergency.

“Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were not able to do the job of stopping people from leaving their country and coming illegally to the U.S. We will now begin cutting off, or substantially reducing, the massive foreign aid routinely given to them,” Trump wrote in a series of Twitter posts.

In 2016, the United States provided some $131 million in aid to Guatemala, $98 million to Honduras, and $68 million to El Salvador, according to U.S. data. The Trump administration plans a reduction in aid of almost 40 percent for the three nations. I think we should cut aid by 100 percent to any nation that creates a pressure situation on our southern border.

It doesn’t make any sense that this Mob would be able to freely cross several nations. Central America is not part of some giant free travel zone. These nations have defined the borders with border police. For the mob to just walk from one nation to another requires a willful act of local and national governments.

A country without borders is not actually a country.

This looming invasion could help Republicans in next month’s election. Former Trump campaign adviser Barry Bennett told the Washington Post that the caravan was a “political gift” for the GOP right before midterms. “I wish they were carrying heroin. I wish we had thought of it. It speaks to the dearth of our creativity, unfortunately,” said Bennett, adding “There are 7,000 people marching toward the U.S. border. One party wants to let them in. The other party wants to keep them out.”

I think most of the mobs we are seeing in recent days are motivated by demonic forces. There is always an earthly explanation for why things happen; and in this case, many of the people protesting are doing so because they got paid. A company out of Beverly Hills, CA called Crowds on Demand (COD) has staged a protest against Zdenek Bakala, a Prague-based investment manager. The protesters stalked his home in Hilton Head, SC. Bakala claims in a lawsuit that COD offered to end the protest campaign against him if he paid $23 million.

In 2014, ABC’s “Nightline” reported that a group backed by the beverage industry was hiring people to protest a soda tax measure – posting ads on Craigslist for paid protesters at $13 an hour.

During the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, many noted what appeared to be a man, Vinay Krishnan – who works for the leftist organization, Center for Popular Democracy, paying a woman named Vickie Lampron who was later seen in the Kavanaugh hearing.

It’s not totally clear who are the paymasters of the migrant caravan. Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández said that he believes it was “financed by Venezuela,” according to Breitbart’s Joshua Caplan. Vice President Mike Pence told the Washington Post that there are most certainly people of Middle Eastern descent in the crowd.

A strong indication of the phoniness of these protests is the liberal media’s sudden irritation with the word “mob.” CNN anchors Don Lemon and Brooke Baldwin have taken offense at the word being used to describe angry protesters who harass public figures and shut down guests who dare to label demonstrators as such.

CNN famously aired the uncensored version of the word “s—hole” 195 times in one day, and has devoted countless hours of coverage to porn star Stormy Daniels and her attorney – often using graphic terms to describe sexual encounters. But the word “mob” apparently crosses a line for the network that dares to call itself “The Most Trusted Name in News.”

The devil is very skilled at creating mobs. He led a third of the heavenly angels into rebellion, he will motivate the Gog armies to invade the land of Israel, and he will lead the great mob of all time to the battle of Armageddon. The final mob that he leads will be the most revealing of his hopelessly evil nature. Once he is released from his 1,000-year prison, he will gather a large mob that will be promptly crushed by the Lord God.

“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Revelation 20:7-10).

–Todd

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Prophetic Fine Tuning

Theological academicians–primarily seminarians–sometimes accuse those who look at issues and events of the hour in light of Bible prophecy of engaging in newspaper exegesis. By this, I presume they mean that such practice is improper because one cannot discern Bible prophecy unfolding based upon such examination.

While it is prudent to proceed with caution in such examination, it is commanded by the greatest of all prophets to understand the prophetic times. Jesus’  words to those who failed to discern the prophetic times are as follows:

He answered and said unto them, 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)

I would much prefer being accused by those with the theological doctorates of engaging in newspaper exegesis than to stand one day before my Lord and know that I failed to understand these times. And, these are indeed prophetic times!

Looking at the wide view of the times in which we live under the microscope of God’s prophetic Word, it is a staggering vista to be sure.

•  Evil men and seducers are becoming worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. I just did a presentation on this massive assault on Truth during the Prophecy Watchers conference in Norman, Oklahoma. Paul’s warning about evil men and seducers growing worse and worse can be seen dramatically affecting religion, society and culture, politics and government and the news and entertainment media.
• Continuing to look at the times in a wide view of prophetic stage-setting for the wind-up of the age, the Middle East is most revealing.
• The Gog-Magog coalition, as we have examined many times, is forming to Israel’s north. This is precisely as the prophet Ezekiel foretold.
• Russia–ancient Rosh–is at the center of this forming agglomeration of hostile forces. Iran–ancient Persia–has of late made profound linkages to Rosh, out of which will come the Gog–indwelt leader who will have an evil thought. That thought, of course, will be to invade to the south–over what God calls “the mountains of Israel.”
• Turkey–ancient Togarmah—is in the process of leaving NATO and is drawing closer to Russia and Iran (more about this a bit later).
• Israel continues to be assaulted at its borders on a daily basis. The UN takes the side of Israel’s Islamist enemies in most every issue addressed within that corrupt, international body.

The Jewish state is under constant pressure to give up its already precious little land to the so-called Palestinians. Even the United States is complicit in trying to force a peace that includes a two-state solution.

Israel, we can see in our broad view of prophetic development, is rapidly becoming the cup of trembling and burdensome stone of Zechariah 12:1-3.

Many, many other prophetic developments are front and center each and every hour of every news cycle. So, through a broad, sweeping examination of developments in considering today’s issues and events, discernment should be forthcoming. Any Christian, each of whom is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, should be able to understand these times so near the dénouement of the Church Age (Age of Grace).

Now, back to the matter of Turkey–ancient Togarmah, as presented by Ezekiel the prophet in Ezekiel, chapter 38. As I wrote above, Turkey is in the process of leaving NATO, the Western alliance that has long been a policing force against the bad actors, particularly the aggressive sorts among those of the Eastern hemisphere.

This is where the microscope of Bible prophecy can be used to focus more sharply, looking closely at the issues and events of our time. I like to call it prophetic fine-tuning.

We are all familiar by now with the assassinated journalist who was somewhat involved with the Muslim Brotherhood.  He worked for the Washington Post and was, it is alleged by most pundits, murdered by forces from Saudi, Arabia. The murder occurred within the Saudi consulate in Turkey. The ramifications have been profound.

The bottom line of the matter, for my purposes here, is to express my contention that the mainstream news media and the Democrat Party–and much of the Washington, D.C. establishment–have tried to use the murder to destroy President Trump’s relationship with the Saud royal family. That relationship is one that was negotiated because the Saudis need American military equipment and support to fend off a growing threat from Iran.

Difference in the Islamic sects, one Sunni and the other Shiite, is at the heart of the hatred between Saudi and Iran. It is a schism that has driven the royal family to ally with the west in many ways. Now that alliance is threatened because of the journalist’s murder. Trump is expected to severely sanction the Saudis, thus threatening to destroy the relationship. Many billions of dollars in sales to Saudi and more than 6,000 jobs are at stake.

In fine-tuning the prophetic picture because of being able to discern the times, I’m confident in predicting that, ultimately, the relationship between the Saudis and the Western alliance won’t be destroyed.

Why? Because of Ezekiel the prophet’s foretelling:

Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil? (Ezekiel 38:13)

Many scholars hold that Sheba and Dedan here are in reference to the Arab areas that today constitute the Saudi Kingdom. If this is the case, the Saudis will be aligned with the Western alliance–which those scholars believe are referenced in the rest of Ezekiel 38: 13–at the time of the Gog-Magog assault.

This is prophetic fine tuning. Such examination of issues and events through the prism of Bible prophecy can help the spiritually attuned Christian discern the times–as the Lord obviously expects of those who are His.

–Terry