August to October Donation Drive

For nearly 30 years, Rapture Ready has been an online resource for end-times information. I started the site in September of 1987, while I was an airman stationed at Offutt Air Force Base. My first computer was an Apple II clone made by Franklin Computer Corp. It became my method of sharing prophetic-related news and the gospel message.

The changes in technology have been spectacular; the changes in the field of Bible prophecy have been equally stunning. In the early days I could go on a month long military deployment, and come back home without anyone noticing my absence from the Internet. Today, I have to check something related to the site a dozen times a day.

In the late 80s, there were times when prophetic activity was stagnant, but there was always something important enough related to prophecy to mention. In 2017, there is a strange sense that the Tribulation hour is about to begin.

I have my own special indication of how close we are to the last days. A couple weeks ago, I wrote an article that questioned the possibility of Pope Francis being the False Prophet. If I had written that same article 20 years ago about Pope John II, Rapture Ready would have received a flood of angry emails. I did not receive a single complaint about Francis, and I knew that would be the case when I wrote the article from two key reasons.

The first reason is because Francis perfectly matches the character of the False Prophet, which leaves no room to debate many of his universalism statements. And second, the polarization of religious views. Because there is no middle ground in faith today, liberal Catholics would not likely visit this type of site. The few conservative Catholics that visit RR, would agree with our observations about the Pope’s apostate doctrine.

An important ongoing task for RR is the continued work of updating the site. Our design team works daily on updating our Web presence. It has been 14 months since they started to make the necessary changes. They have transferred nearly 10,000 articles to the new WordPress format. If anyone has any ideas for improving the site, don’t be shy about sending me your suggestions.

I’ve added a new Prayer Center page to the Rapture Ready most active pages. The devil has become so powerful in the news media, academic and political realms, I think prayer has become the only way to influence world events.

We are still locked in a massive struggle to keep Rapture Ready from being overwhelmed by censorship. The technology firms that have appointed themselves as gatekeepers to the Internet are doing everything they can to block Christian and conservative sites. This bias against true believers has forced us to spend large amounts of time and money to keep our heads above water. The more determined they are to drown us in a sea of data, the more convinced I am to keep paddling against the deluge of hate.

In order to keep the end-time data flowing, the site needs your financial support. One of the blessed things I hope for our donors is a point in time when checks sent to RR will no longer be deposited. Your checks will be in the mail, but we will be in the air.

We have three ways you can contribute to Rapture Ready and enable our efforts to expand our reach. You can help us keep getting our message out by sending a financial gift via our postal address; you can make a one-time donation by a credit card, or you can sign-up to make monthly donations via PayPal. More information can be found on our Donation page.

Rapture Ready’s P.O. box address:

Rapture Ready
P.O. Box 969
Benton, AR 72018

–Todd

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Mr. President–Cursing or Blessing?

There continues to be much turbulence stirred within the American government and America in general. I’ve written a number of times here that I believe God Himself intervened in the 2016 presidential election. He, I’m convinced, answered the prayers of the people called by His name–Christians. He turned the American ship of state around–or at least began that process of steering in a better direction.

Donald J. Trump, a man who was and continues to be far from a godly man, in my view, was nonetheless chosen by the Almighty to head the project to at least slow if not completely halt globalism’s takeover of the United States.

Globalism, I believe, is the conveyance Satan intends to use to take America down the pathway to the eventual installation of his man of sin, Antichrist. That intention has been greatly slowed with the election of Mr. Trump, and the fallen one isn’t happy. The uproar amongst his many minions, both demonic and human, is witness that gives testimony to Lucifer’s enragement.

Donald Trump is God’s man of the hour, even though not a godly man. In that regard, I support God’s decision totally, as anyone who reads these commentaries knows. I continue to believe that if the other candidate had won the election, the effects, especially for those of us who value American ideals as founded and who believe that God’s Word, the Bible, is truth, would have been terrible.

One day, perhaps soon, the U.S. and the world will experience those feared results of losing such elections. For now, however, there is a Heaven-sent reprieve and we must support godliness and a movement back  toward God’s way, rather than continue on the path to destruction.

This is why I–we as Christians–must call out ungodliness when it pops up its ugly head, no matter where it does so.

That brings me to the title of this article “Mr. President–Cursing or Blessing?”

The turbulence I mentioned at the outset was full-blown in the White House the week of July 14. It was no doubt stirred and fanned by the breath of the old serpent, the devil. The winds of inter-White House turf war continued this week just past.

President Trump, always one to keep the mainstream media–and the rest of us as well–off-balance with his actions and tweets, did so in his own inimitable fashion. He removed his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and replaced him with Ret. General John Kelly. But, it wasn’t that cut and dried.

Mixed in with the shake-up of White House staff was the matter of the desire–the absolute necessity, in my view–to get rid of the so-called leakers. These holdover personnel from the previous administration were wreaking havoc on the president’s efforts to move forward with his agenda.

Sean Spicer, the communications director was also let go. In his place came one Anthony Scaramucci. We know now that this mouthpiece seems to have no boundaries on usage of language. And that is what inspired this commentary.

Mr. Scaramucci, chosen by the president to clean out the leakers, began his new job by talking with a reporter of The New Yorker–the hip New York City magazine that looks down on the rest of us as most generally just not with it.

The  president’s new man in the communication director’s seat indeed began to communicate. He did so in a cursing rant he thought was, but in actuality was not, “off the record.” It was so bad that it apparently caused Chris Wallace of Fox News to blush when he read it.

Wallace said, “I’m no choirboy, but his [Scaramucci’s] language took even me aback.”

It was anger, framed in sewer language, whether real or feigned for impact, that to this point we hadn’t had a close associate of a sitting president use. I’m no choirboy, either, having grown up amongst my male peers as a youngster in junior high school, high school, university, and even the U.S. military. The report of Scaramucci’s  vulgar tirade made me feel uneasy. I don’t like one so closely associated with my president using such ungodly language. It somehow dirties–sullies the office.

Of course, I realize that this president sometimes uses less than godly language himself. I don’t like that, either. This I say for those of you who were about to ask “Well, how about Trump’s language?”

When I first heard the report of Anthony Scaramucci spewing forth as he did, my mind began searching for words I once heard reported as spoken by our first president on use of vile language.

I soon found the quote. It was George Washington, then the head general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, issuing a written command. That command said the following:

The General is sorry to be informed —, that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing, a vice heretofore little known in an American army, is growing into a fashion; — he hopes the officers will, by example as well as influence, endeavor to check it, and that both they and the men will reflect that we can have little hope of the blessing of Heaven on our arms, if we insult it by impiety and folly; added to this, it is a vice so mean and low, without any temptation, that every man of sense and character detests and despises it.  (Source: George Washington, Extract from the Orderly Book of the army under command of Washington, dated at Head Quarters, in the city of New York [3 August 1770]; reported in American Masonic Register and Literary Companion, Volume 1 [1829])

We have, of course, become a profane nation in ways that would make our first president wonder, no doubt, how the Lord of Heaven could let us proceed farther as a country. As much as I back Donald J. Trump and his much-beleaguered presidency, I must ask the question: Mr. President–cursing or blessing?

How can we expect the continued blessings of the Almighty when we allow such cesspool thinking and expression as Mr. Scaramucci used, representing a president of the United States, therefore representing us?

Anthony Scaramucci might be a tough, New York guy who uses street language to get things done. He did not have the right to use such while in an office that represents the rest of us, many of whom still prefer a more godly means of expression.

It is good that another general of excellent reputation, General John Kelly, evidently, according to reports, feels the same way. Scaramucci’s vulgar tirade to the New Yorker, in concert with his demand to be allowed to bypass the new chief of staff, General Kelly, was asked to leave the communications position he had occupied for only ten days.

Wise decision, Mr. President. Please consider the following in regard to your own language.

God’s Word says the following in use of language for the Christian–a tremendous number of those who voted for you:

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. (Ephesians 4: 29)

Even more to the point, James put it this way:

But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. (James 4: 8-15)

–Terry

“Mark of the Beast” Chip Receives Alarming Amount of Positive PR

The tech company, Three Square Market, has received a flood of news coverage over its plan to implant microchips into the hands of a majority of its workers. The firm has 80 employees at the company’s River Falls headquarters, and more than 50 agreed to get implants.

The chip uses radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, the same method used with contactless credit cards. When activated by a reader, a small amount of data flows between the two devices via electromagnetic waves.

Todd Westby, the CEO of Three Square Market said participation was not required. When he told the team about the plan, there was some reluctance mixed with excitement. After further conversations, the majority of the workers agreed to get chipped. Westby said the implants are not GPS enabled, do not allow for tracking workers and do not require passwords.

“There’s really nothing to hack in it, because it is encrypted just like credit cards are … The chances of hacking into it are almost nonexistent because it’s not connected to the Internet,” he said. “The only way for somebody to get connectivity to it is to basically chop off your hand.”

The implants are made by BioHax International, a Swedish company specializing in ‘smart biometric sensors.” They have a hefty price tag of $300 per chip.

Epicenter, a startup hub in Sweden, started offering BioHax chips to employees earlier this year, according to The Los Angeles Times. The injections have become so popular that workers at Epicenter hold parties for those willing to get implanted.

The technology for this type of microchip is at least 30 years old. I find it amazing that so many news outlets would cover this story as if General Motors had announced that they are about to come out with a new flying car.

There is a good reason why these things are called implants. They have a width equal to a Tic Tac mint, and their length is similar to the diameter of a dime. Insertion requires being jabbed with an instrument the size of a meat thermometer. Because it is classified as minor surgery, people administering the implants have to be trained to do so.

I can find a host of problems with radio frequency identification chips. I would not put it past criminals to chop off hands; and modern scanners could easily copy the ID number. If someone quits a firm, he or she would have a useless implant stuck in his or her hand. Being a fidgety person, I would find it very uncomfortable to have something so large under my skin.

There have been health concerns with the implants. A research article by the Associated Press has shown that lab mice and rats that were injected with glass-encapsulated RFID transponders “developed malignant, fast-growing, lethal cancers in up to 1% to 10% of cases.” When PositiveID, a leading U.S. firm in RFID technology responded to the report, they said the levels of fatal cancer in dogs was only 1% (causing its stock to drop in half).

In 1994, I went to a prophecy lecture given by Terry Cook. He spoke primarily on the RFID microchip implant. The meeting time was delayed because of the lack of seating needed for the large number of people who came to hear Terry’s speech. Hotel workers spent twenty minutes bringing in extra chairs to the meeting hall.

What made Cook into a sensation back then is a book he had written depicting how modern technology could be used to track all humans on the earth—in a centralized financial system. At the time, his focus was on a firm called Verichip. The technology is now so basic, almost any chip manufacturer could mass produce the implants the Antichrist will likely use to enslave the world.

It is very chilling to notice that we have arrived at the point where the devil’s most sinister tool for controlling the masses—is being presented in the press as a logical choice for making security and financial decisions. All the major media stories about the BioHax chips read like propaganda fluff pieces, which shows that Satan must be working to desensitize the public about this technology. Because Bible prophecy is true, the day will soon come when people will line-up to get the mark the same way they are waiting for the latest iPhone.

I remember reading end-time cartoons from the 1970s that had people tattooed with “666” on their skin, and it baffled me how people could accept something so blatantly evil. It is now clear that the precise mix of technology and deception has created an environment wherein people fail to realize the deadly sequences of hearing the call, “Just hold out your hand if you want to join the club.”

The huge surge of social media and the need to belong—to be accepted, is another reason why taking a chip will become fashionable. The increase in body tattooing and body piercing over this past decade will also serve as a natural transition to accept a microchip. It might even become a status symbol!

“And 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”(Revelation 13:16-17).

–Todd

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Hate and Haters

Explosive confrontations were spawned by an Israeli crackdown because of the murder of two Jewish policeman guarding a Temple Mount entranceway.

If there is one word that can define the tumult surrounding the Temple Mount in Jerusalem at this late hour of this dispensation, that word is hate. Hatred against the Jewish race and against Israel has again come to the boiling point. It is coming from, in addition to the usual suspects, a source considered by a large part of the world’s population to be a bastion of not hatred, but love.

Since this source is supposedly Christian–the Catholic pope–there is reason, from my point of view, to analyze the matters involved through troubled cogitation. I say this because much of the Christian world–the world to which I belong–believe the Jewish race and the nation Israel to be under satanic attack.

My view is that those who are outraged at the Jews and at Israel come not from a godly perspective, but from undiluted hatred. It is profoundly disconcerting, to say the least, that all of this vitriol comes from those claiming the Christian religion as their own.

Pope Francis is joined in his mild-mannered but sub-surface rage against Israel by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Christian conglomerate, consisting of 13 religious bodies within the Jerusalem community, issued a joint statement condemning the violence surrounding the Temple Mount.

Although it was a condemnation of violence in general, the language reflects that of Pope Francis which, in tenor, was slanted toward support of the Muslim side. For example, the communiqué addressed all references to the sites of the area in Arabic terms rather than in Jewish or Christian terms. The statement clearly disregarded any connection of the Temple Mount area to the Jewish or Christian religions.

The statement read:

We, the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, express our serious concern regarding recent escalation in violent developments around Haram ash-Sharif and our grief for the loss of human life and strongly condemn any act of violence.

The statement, like the Pope, placed the blame for the ongoing violence on the metal detectors and cameras Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has placed in key areas to prevent further terroristic acts. Netanyahu, it is reported, has agreed to remove the metal detectors at some point, but not all safeguards. He will keep cameras and other devices in place in spite of the tremendous criticism of governments around the world and of threats of further attacks from the Arab-Muslim troublemakers.

The 13-member Latin Patriarchate stated in its declaration:

We are worried about any change to historical (Status Quo) situation in al-Aqsa Mosque (Haram ash-Sharif) and its courtyard, and in the holy city of Jerusalem. Any threat to its continuity and integrity could easily lead to serious and unpredictable consequences, which would be most unwelcome in the present tense religious climate.

We value the continued custody of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on Al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy places in Jerusalem and the Holy Land which guarantees the right for all Muslims to free access and worship to al Aqsa Mosque according to the prevailing Status Quo.

The following news item frames the “Christian” community’s condemning tone, directed toward Israel.

The statement made no mention of the Muslim terror attack that led to Israel placing the metal detectors at the entrances to the site. Nor did it refer to the horrific Palestinian terror attack on Friday.

Bishop Munib Younan, head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land, said on Vatican radio that the metal detectors are a form of “collective punishment” which should not be permitted “because of an attack by two persons.”

The bishop claimed that thousands of Muslims pray at the site during Ramadan and “everything goes smoothly”. He did not mention the murder of IDF Border Policewoman Hadas Malkah, which took place during Ramadan.

“It’s essential to find a political solution to end the Israeli occupation, which is considered illegal,” the bishop concluded. (Catholic Churches in Jerusalem Blame Israel for Muslim Violence, Deny Biblical Roots of Temple Mount, By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, Israel News, July 23, 2017)

Though couched in high-sounding phraseology of religion-diplomatic speak, the hatred for the Jewish state is there. It is even more hateful in its thrust than such vitriol issued by other sources. This is because these are those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ.

It is hate-speech of the most troubling sort, in my opinion.

Jesus, who is God,and, incidentally, is Israel’s Messiah, loves the Jewish people. To hate them and falsely accuse them, even though they certainly have erred greatly as have all other peoples, is to show hatred for Jesus.

The issuance of such condemnation, falling in line with all other hate-filled antagonists of God’s chosen people, invites, ultimately, the curse of God (Genesis 12:1-3).

Claiming to be “Christians”–if they are indeed so–these have no excuse for their deliberate denial that the Temple Mount as well as all the contested territory and far beyond was given to Israel in perpetuity by God, Himself.

Those who claim Christianity as their faith base should take into consideration what it means to hate that which the Lord loves. About hate and hatred, the Lord–who here was addressing Jews first, as the Church wasn’t born until Pentecost–said the following.

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me…

They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. ” (Jn 15: 18-21; 16: 2-3)

–Terry