February 22, 2016

nmSupreme Court About to Become a Kangaroo Court

The sudden death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is devastating news to all who cherish the U. S. Constitution. When I saw on Yahoo News the report of his passing, I equated it to the moment American Airlines Flight 11 flew into the north tower of the World Trade Center. In an instant, everything changed.

For the past several years, Justice Scalia has been part of a 5 to 4 majority that has blocked efforts to swing the Supreme Court toward a leftist agenda. Without his vote, gun ownership would have been abolished as an individual right, partial-birth abortion would now be legal and funded by taxpayers, and the death penalty would be banned in all but a few states.

Now that Obama has an opportunity to nominate someone to replace Scalia, there is little doubt that he will choose a liberal to push the court toward a liberal majority. Once that happens, the country we knew as the United States of America will be over.

It has been suggested that since this is an election year, the Senate should hold up any appointment until we have a new president. Since the Senate is controlled by the Republicans, this should be their option. A young Senator Obama was all for obstruction when Judge Samuel Alito was nominated by President George W. Bush. He spoke boldly about restraining executive power and respecting the Constitution’s checks and balances:

When it comes to how checks and balances in our system are supposed to operate, the balance of power between the executive branch, Congress, and the judiciary, Judge Alito consistently sides with the notion that a president should not be constrained by either Congressional acts, or the check of the judiciary. He believes in the over-arching power of the president to engage in whatever policies the president deems to be appropriate.

Now that Obama is president, he is shocked that the Senate would dare to block any of his selections. The biggest hypocrite in this area would have to be New York Senator Charles Schumer. He has been vocal in his denunciations of Republican obstructionism. Schumer sang a very different tune when he spoke at the July 2007 convention of the American Constitution Society, months after the Democrats had reclaimed the majority in the Senate:

“With the respect to the Supreme Court at least I will recommend to my colleagues that we should not confirm any Bush nominee to the Supreme Court, except in extraordinary circumstances.”

The liberal media has total amnesia when it comes to the efforts of the Democrats to use their Constitutional tools to defeat Republican nominations. Right now, they are working to turn public opinion against the Republicans by whining about how horrible it would be if we only had eight Supreme Court Justices.

History is on the side of a GOP controlled Senate taking its sweet time on the appointment of another Supreme Court justice. The longest vacancy in the Supreme Court was 29 months when the Senate kept rejecting President Tyler’s choices.

With so much at stake, Conservatives should be declaring that they will oppose any nominee that has the slightest hint of liberal bias. Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell, who in my mind is the worst Senate majority leader in recent memory, always comes across like he is a weak pushover.

He has already fumbled the nomination process. He knows the sitting president has the right to fill the vacancy. Constitutionally there is no time limit to this process. But McConnell foolishly showed his hand by saying, “This vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”

There is no way Obama is not going to jump on this opportunity to appoint a liberal activist judge. McConnell’s strategy to prevent the appointment should have been done diplomatically in a manner that would steadily delay the matter. Instead, he decided to go down a strange road by stating Obama should not even have the opportunity to make the replacement. He might as well have requested that Obama step down from the presidency a year early.

I am amazed at how quickly our nation is unraveling. We have a president acting like an autocrat, and a Supreme Court legislating law from the bench. The members of Congress who should be keeping these other branches in check are not fulfilling their promises to the American people; the Republic which they have taken oaths to defend.

Another indication that something is wrong occurred with the South Carolina Republican debate. I watched the highlights of the event, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was like a pie throwing fight from an old Three Stooges movie. These men should be united in stopping Hillary Clinton but they are so fixated on personal attacks, that we may soon be facing our third Democratic presidency in a row.

The scariest thing is the lack of alarm about our predicament. A key problem is we don’t care enough about biblical values to fight for them. People complained bitterly when they took prayer out of schools and legalized abortion. After much of our medical field was socialized under Obamacare, the outrage lasted only one election cycle. When the Supreme Court said gay “marriage” is a Constitutional right, there was barely a whimper from the Christian community.

Things are horribly bleak, but there is something positive about this point in time. Jesus said He would come for His Bride right before the forces of darkness are about to gain full-control of this world. We may be responsible for the hold-up. Once we leave, Obama can put his buddy Al Sharpton on the highest court of the land.

“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


nmSupreme Decision

Just as suspected, the year 2016 is on track to be a pivotal year in the shaping of biblically prophetic destiny. The sudden loss of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia will produce ramifications far beyond those posed by this sitting president further stacking that court with yet another justice of likemindedness to his own ideological bent.

The ultimate decision involving replacement of the constitutional champion that was Scalia will perhaps, in one way or another, help determine the future course of all of mankind.

American Founding Fathers, whether fully aware in every case that they were listening to the directives of the Almighty, gave Americans yet unborn a republic based upon Judeo-Christian principles. And, indications are overwhelming that almost all of them–even the deists like Franklin and Jefferson–knew that Providence had a divine hand in winning the War of Independence and in composing the liberty-laden document that is the U.S. Constitution.

Moving on from the producing of that founding document, the writings of the founders show they recognized that it was not merely an existential deity that started the national ball rolling then left America to its own devices. It is more than obvious that the one and only God’s mighty hand has been on this most materially blessed nation to ever exist throughout its coming up 240 years of nationhood.

Antonin Scalia was consistently a Supreme Court justice who, with each decision he rendered, demonstrated that he believed that our God-influenced Constitution should be defended and preserved. With his passing, we are faced with the possibility that it is a document in danger of degeneration to ineffectiveness at best and to complete disregard at worst.

The Supreme Court has teeter-tottered on the fulcrum of cultural dichotomy, particularly since 1963, with the decisions to eliminate Bible reading and prayer from public schools. By this, I mean the traditional, God-fearing part of America was on one side and the America that wanted no such constraint on the other. Anti-God, humanistic gravity has consistently been tugging the nation downward with succeeding Supreme Court decisions. We witnessed a dramatic increase in the latest such tugging during the year just past.

And, now we face action by a president who, immediately upon Scalia’s death, announced he will nominate a replacement within the ten plus months left of his presidency. We don’t have to wonder very deeply about the sort of nominee that will eventuate. All that is necessary is to consider Mr. Obama’s ideological forays into jurisprudence at the Supreme Court level over the past seven years.

With decisions of the land’s highest court steadily slanting toward the anti-Constitutional side, and now the loss of perhaps that court’s strongest voice for preservation of the document the Founders gave us, we indeed face perilous times.

America, I put to you, is now moving rapidly downward on the slide into national oblivion. It is agonizing to have to say it. But, the facts are staring us in the nation’s rebellious face.

America’s Supreme Court and its problems are but a reflection of that rebellion. We have sown to the winds disregard for God’s biblical guidelines for upright comportment. We are beginning to reap the whirlwind of reprobate thinking and conduct warned about by the apostle Paul in Romans chapter 1.

Perhaps the final straw for Heaven’s Supreme Court is we the people allowing a wicked leadership to turn America against Israel and take up the cause of those who are vowed to destroy the Jewish state. What are even more compelling as evidence of the nation’s rebellion are the so-called Christian churches of America joining in the cursing of Israel. We hear every day of those churches that have joined in the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction) movement to punish Israel for “occupying” land that these say doesn’t belong to Israel.

To add insult to injury, these proclaim that they–the church–have replaced Israel as inheritors of the promises God gave Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Israel, they declare, has forfeited the claim to the promises and is no longer God’s chosen people. The Lord is finished with that people.

That is what these would-be usurpers of God’s promises say. But, here is what the Lord God of Israel says in His Holy Word:

This is what the Lord says, “He Who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar–the Lord Almighty is His Name; Only if these ordinances vanish from My sight,” declares the Lord, “will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before Me.” (Jeremiah 31:35-36)

Just as the above promise is still in effect, so is God’s warning of Genesis 12:3. America, if national repentance is not forthcoming, faces a Supreme Decision far more serious than the replacement of a U.S. Supreme Court justice.

–Terry

February 15, 2016

nmGoing Cashless

There is a global movement to ban the usage of paper currency. The war on cash has been waged by the mainstream media, government leaders and banking institutions. We’ve all heard propaganda that says cash is dirtied by drug dealing, terrorism, money laundering, and tax evasion.

A few days ago, Norway’s largest bank, DNB, jumped aboard the cashless society bandwagon by calling for a total end to cash. Norway has already been moved in that direction. Research polls show that only about 6 percent of Norwegians use cash on a daily basis. Several banks in Norway no longer offer cash in their branch offices.

DNB must be working for Big Brother because it cited the lack of government control as a key reason why we need to go cashless. According to the DNB bank’s executive Trond Bentestuen:

“Today, there is approximately 50 billion kroner in circulation and [the country’s central bank] Norges Bank can only account for 40 percent of its use. That means that 60 percent of money usage is outside of any control. We believe that is due to under-the-table money and laundering.”

It wasn’t long ago that the average man on the street would be upset by the news that the government had the power to track the financial transaction of all its citizens. Today, people are all too willing to give up their personal freedoms to please the government. After the Homeland Security Act allowed federal agents to snoop into our bank accounts, the stage was set for the monitoring of all financial transactions.

It is increasingly argued that high denomination notes make it easier for criminals to smuggle and hide large sums of cash. Rob Wainwright, director of Europol at a London on terrorism, said the 500-euro note, the $100 U.S. note, Switzerland’s 1,000-franc note and Britain’s 50-pound note should be eliminated to make it harder for evil doers to transfer funds.

I think the worry over large bills is a bunch of nonsense. There was a time when American banks had available $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 notes. When the $10,000 note circulated, it was worth twice the annual income of most Americans. There was no talk of it being too convenient for criminals. The concern over the higher denominations is so silly, it’s clear that some other agenda is at work.

The greatest factor that is driving the world toward a cashless monetary system is the massive debt that nations have accumulated. Fiat money is based on the endless expansion of debt. Unfortunately, there is a point where the numbers become so large they can no longer be managed. Just printing currency becomes a major problem.

The printing of money becomes very difficult when the numbers reach into the billions and trillions. Venezuela’s currency, the Bolivar, is rapidly dropping in value. To keep up with hyperinflation, President Nicolás Maduro has ordered the printing of five billion bank notes. Because the money was printed outside the country, it had to be flown in on three-dozen 747 cargo planes.

The total currency (actual cash in the form of bills and coins) in the U.S. financial system is a little over $1.36 trillion. In order for the U.S. to print $1 trillion in $100 notes, it would take 100 semi-trailers to move this amount of currency.

The U.S. debt reached the point where it doubles with each presidency. When George W. Bush entered the White House in 2001, our debt stood at $5 trillion. When President Bush left office in January of 2009, it had increased to $10 trillion. By the time Barack Obama leaves office, the Federal debt will be at $20 trillion.

If we go from $20 to $40 trillion, there wouldn’t be enough cotton in Georgia to produce the banknotes needed to manage the increase in the money supply. Since we don’t want to tempt those drug dealers and terrorists by adding zeros to our bank notes; a cashless system seems to be inevitable in the future.

Anyone who is a student of Bible prophecy should recognize that the cashless system we are moving toward is the long predicted mark of the beast. The Antichrist 666 identification is a fearful thing because all who freely take the mark will be condemned to hell, and all who reject it will be locked out of the banking system. It is my hope that the readers of this article have their trust in Jesus and are ready to escape this corrupt financial system.

“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” (Rev.13:16-17).

–Todd


nmTribulation Light

Regarding the title above, I don’t mean to imply light being shed on the Tribulation–although that is part of what I hope will be done. By using the term “Tribulation light,” I mean we are now seeing issues and events occur in this Age of Grace much like, but not actually those prophetically scheduled for, the seven years of worldwide horror leading up to Christ’s Second Advent–i.e., those issues and events are but similar to those much more horrific, apocalyptic events; foreshadows of things to come.

There are several specific prophecies expounded upon by Jesus while giving His Olivet Discourse that I would like to examine as being “Tribulation light” events in our headlines today.

The Lord gave these as recorded in the following prophecy:

Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. (Luke 21: 20-21)

I would like to probe a bit into the less-prominent “Tribulation light” prophetic indicators within the above Scripture before getting into that which I view as most pronounced in these days so near the end of the Church Age.

Jesus was foretelling that these troubles will be unprecedented in their ferocity during the Tribulation era when God’s wrath will fall upon incorrigibly wicked mankind. He exhorted that when those with discernment see these things begin to happen, they are to know that His return is drawing near. Note, the Lord said when these things “begin” to come to pass, those with discernment are to “look up…for your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28).

Jesus said as recorded in other places that these issues and events will be like birth pangs. They will come upon end-time’s mankind like pains a woman experiences during the incrementally increasing contractions of having a baby. That is, these pains will begin in a milder manner than they will become the nearer the moment of birth.

Earthquakes, Jesus said, will mark the beginning of “sorrows” (birth pangs). Again, these, obviously, staying within the birthing analogy, will be lighter in severity than they will become during the full-blown Tribulation when Christ’s return is about to happen. We are told in Revelation that there will occur the ultimate earthquake as Christ is breaking through the black clouds of that terrible time. Every mountain will fall. That describes a mighty earthquake indeed!

Anyone who reads the news as presented in our Rapture Ready News section knows of the reports of tremblers from around the world. There seems no geographical region of the planet that isn’t experiencing seismic activity on an increasing scale. All of these quakes are light in severity when compared to the Revelation description of the final quake that will bring every tall structure on earth crashing down. However, the cumulative effects have prophetic evidentiary significance, it becomes ever more obvious.

Just within the past days, we have the following posts:

  • 5.7-magnitude earthquake felt in New Zealand capital
    New Zealand’s capital city Wellington was rocked by 5.7-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday (Feb 9), according to the country’s earthquake monitoring service.
  • Massive earthquake hits near Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville
    A 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit near the Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville early on Tuesday morning. The undersea quake struck at 3.19am local time…
  • Taiwan Quake Kills at Least 18 as Search for Missing Continues
    A strong earthquake rocked a region of Taiwan that’s a hub for chipmaking suppliers to the likes of Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc., killing at least 18 people
  • 5.2 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Nepal, Tremors Felt In Bihar
  • Earthquake shakes Tokyo, no tsunami risk
    An earthquake has struck close to Tokyo, shaking much of the metropolitan region. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, and no tsunami
  • Chile earthquake: Strong tremor strikes near Tongoy and La Serena
    A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 has struck off the coast of central Chile, centered off Tongoy and La Serena, seismologists say.
  • Strong earthquake hits Solomon Islands
    A magnitude 6.4 earthquakes hit the Solomon Islands at 12.19am today, according to the Malaysian Meteorological Department.

Such reports continue in a never-ending cyberspace headlines crawl. The tremors are coming with increasing frequency and intensity.

The second “Tribulation light” indicator I pluck from the Luke 21:20-21 Olivet prophecy Jesus gave is the matter of “pestilence.”

To be brief, I bring to your attention the things we have seen develop most recently in this regard. Remember the Ebola scare of a few months ago. Think of the HIV natter that was on the front pages and growing, seemingly, uncontrollably. And now it is the Zika virus that is apparently spread by mosquitoes and which has no medical defense to combat it. There is growing concern among the medical research community that many of the pestilences are in the process of mutating–developing resistance to antibiotics and other forms of combating disease.

The Tribulation era will see these diseases become full-blown. The toll in human life will be beyond comprehension.

All of these above-mentioned developments are but sidebars to the real story regarding signals that show how near this generation is to the Tribulation era.

“Nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom”: This is the real scriptural crux of proof in thinking on where we stand on God’s prophetic timeline.

“Nation” in the Greek language, as used here, is “ethnos” or “ethnic” in English. Jesus was predicting that the very end of the age would produce great ethnic upheaval. People will be raging against each other for reasons of race. Likewise, the Lord said that “kingdom against kingdom” will mark the era leading up to His Second Advent.

Is there any doubt whatsoever that these indicators are in our headlines today? In the very streets of America, there is ethnic rage that sometimes boils to the uncontrollable level. The rioting in places like Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland, leap instantly to mind. Such rage is at the heart of problems around the world. Religious fervor, inciting ethnic hatreds, mark this generation as the one Jesus must have had in His omniscient mind when giving this prophecy.

We are experiencing today “Tribulation light” prophetic birth pangs on a moment-by-moment basis. It will be fascinating, as watchers on the wall, to see what 2016 will bring. We, as born-again believers, hope it brings the shout of the Lord Jesus: “Come up here!” (Revelation 4:1)

–Terry