Why Is the Satanism Category Ranked So Low?

One of the most common questions regarding the Rapture Index is why the rating for the Satanism category is so low. Right now, it is at a two rating, which seems to conflict with recent headlines:

District officials in Pennsylvania had green-lighted an “After School Satan Club.” It was poised to be a headline-grabbing countermeasure to a Christian club by an atheist group claiming to be Satanists.

The name of the sponsoring group is the Satanic Temple, and they don’t claim to worship the same Devil that is in the Bible. June Everett, the After School Satan Club national campaign director, said the club is anything but a joke.

“We are run by the Satanic Temple, and we are; the club is brought to you by your local, friendly, self-identified, non-theistic Satanists.” Everett said the Satanic Temple doesn’t believe in the same Satan that Christians do.

Senator Ted Cruz, R-Tex., joined a chorus of Republicans and conservatives voicing outrage over a controversial performance during this year’s Grammys on February 5, which featured a singer dressed as the Devil.

“Nonbinary” singer Sam Smith’s duet with transgender artist Kim Petras for their song “Unholy” featured Smith wearing Devil horns while Petras gyrated in a cage against the backdrop of flames. Dancers dressed as demons bowed and crawled around Smith.

“This…is…evil,” Cruz wrote in response to a tweet of the performance shared by conservative commentator Liz Wheeler.

Another congressman is upset over an animated horror comedy featuring Danny DeVito as the voice of Satan, which is “clearly evil.” US Rep Mike Johnson from Louisiana, through his Facebook post, denounced “Little Demon” as being from the pit of hell. His official website says the series is about a woman and her 13-year-old daughter who are trying to live normal lives even though Satan is the girl’s father and wants custody of her soul.

“I couldn’t get to the remote fast enough to shield my 11-year-old from the preview, and I wonder how many other children were exposed to it — and how many millions more will tune in to the new series, owned and marketed by DISNEY,” the congressman and vice chairman of the House Republican Conference wrote in a recent post.

In the past few years, there have been all types of satanic representations on TV:

In 2016, Fox presented a TV series that portrayed the Devil as a smooth operator. The series revolved around the story of Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis), the DC Universe’s version of the Devil, who abandons Hell for Los Angeles, where he runs his own nightclub named Lux and becomes a consultant to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Katy Perry topped Sam Smith with her 2014 Grammy Awards performance that had her doing a full-fledged witchcraft incarnation live on national TV.

In 2021, Gay rapper Lil Nas X grossed out some of his closest fans by sliding down a pole to hell to give the Devil a lap dance.

It is clear that Satan is the god of this world. He is a being of extreme popularity, but few people believe he really exists. You can look at the most satanic rock bands of all time, and the majority of them don’t think the Devil was ever a real being. The band AC/DC had hits like “Highway to Hell,” “Care of the Devil,” and “Hells Bells.”

Not a single member of AC/DC thinks that Satan is a real being. They have been around since 1973, and they are the second most successful band in the history of rock and roll. They have sold over 200 million records worldwide.

When I created the Satanism category in 1987, I knew that the actual worship of Satan was low, and it still is. The Devil prefers that people think that he doesn’t exist. I find that to be very odd for someone who is extremely arrogant. Since Satan is a being of super intelligence, it ultimately makes sense that he would deceive people into thinking he never existed.

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

–Todd

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Iranian Nuclear Nightmare

The last time we looked in this column at the prophecy about an apparent Persian/Iranian nuclear-type disaster was a number of years ago. At the time, it looked very much like the Iranian regime was on the verge of attaining the technology and obtaining the fissionable materials in sufficient amounts to produce a nuclear weapon.

Israel looked to be at that time about to take out Iran’s nuclear production centers within the Bushehr Mountains by military strikes. However, the program seems to have been disrupted by something called a Stuxnet worm—a cyber virus introduced by Israel’s IDF into Iran’s nuclear development computer system.

Still, the rumors persisted that the Iranians were on the verge of producing a nuclear bomb. The claim always seemed to indicate it would happen within several months at most.

The bomb, of course, was never demonstrated to have become fact, and yet the same claims are made today. Iran is on the cusp of creating a nuclear weapon, and they promise to use it to eliminate Israel when the capability comes into being.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in power during most of those earlier Bushehr Mountain threats. We know how the Israeli government has gone in and out of various stages of political-ideological phases since. And now, in 2023, Netanyahu is once again in power, and everything coming out of his government’s inner circle indicates the Iranian threat to complete its nuclear weapons program is about to come to fruition. Netanyahu continues to vow—as when he was in power in those earlier days—that Israel’s blood-vowed enemy will never be allowed to achieve nuclear weapons capability.

This would seem like a ho-hum moment in that we’ve seen it before, and nothing came of it. That they will once again come up with a Stuxnet-type technological worm to infiltrate and destroy Iran’s project before it can be completed is at the heart of the sense of not to worry.

There is an entirely different feel to these matters this time, however. This is particularly true among those of us who look at all other developments in Bible prophecy progression and see all the things mentioned by Jesus and the prophets as coming together into profound convergence. This factor and the obvious ratcheting-up of Israel’s military planning and Netanyahu’s strong words might indicate the Elam prophecy given by Jeremiah the prophet could be close to fulfillment.

Analyzing from a biblically prophetic perspective of the dangerous situation presented by Iran’s threats has been the mission of my friend Bill Salus of Prophecy Depot Ministries. He wrote in a 2014 article about a report outlining that danger.

The war-weary world is watching with worrisome eyes as Iran assembles a uranium enrichment arsenal that now numbers about 19,000 centrifuges. This many centrifuges spinning 24/7 can produce a nuclear weapon within about six weeks. Perhaps even more startling is the June 9, 2014 headline below from The Washington Free Beacon:

“Israeli Official: Iran to Have 50–100 Nuclear Warheads by 2024.” (“Elam: Iran’s Forgotten Prophecy: Middle East,” Bill Salus, Koinonia House, June 2014)

Well, the year 2024 is almost upon us. And, like all other prophetic signals on the immediate horizon, our headlines at the moment blaze with news from Israel.

As stated many times in these commentaries: No matter in which directions the cameras and microphones might be turned at the moment, they always swing right back to focus on Jerusalem and Israel as the center of controversy.

That truth continues to be in play. The following portrays the seriousness of the moment.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday evening, at the Hartog National Security Conference at the Setai Hotel in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, was interviewed by Prof. Walter Russell Mead, Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College, and the ‘Global View’ Columnist at the Wall Street Journal…

In response to the question: What would the policy be on Iran, on the assumption that the US administration claims that the 2015 nuclear agreement is completely finished, and in light of reports that Iran has enriched its uranium to 84% just below nuclear level, Prime Minister Netanyahu replied:

“Ask a question. How do you stop a rogue nation from acquiring nuclear weapons? Let’s see. I mean, there have been some examples, so we can maybe deduce a rule. “…

“The only thing that has credibly stopped rogue nations from developing nuclear weapons is a credible military threat or a credible military action. You can couple that with crippling economic sanctions, but that’s not a sufficient condition. A necessary condition, and an often sufficient condition, is credible military action. The longer you wait, the harder that becomes. We’ve waited very long.”

“I can tell you that I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. That is not merely an Israeli interest; it’s an American interest; it’s in the interest of the entire world.” (“PM says stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons in interests of the entire world, not just Israel,” Arutz Sheva, Israel National News, February 21, 2023)

While Mr. Netanyahu lays out the nightmare for the entire world if Iran is allowed to develop its nuclear weapons program, it is a nightmare for the Persian people, sadly, that is in view from God’s prophetic perspective.

God, through Jeremiah, foretells that the Persians’ bow (its military capability) will be broken. There will be such a disaster as a result that the people of the region will have to scatter to the four winds to survive the carnage. I believe that carnage is nuclear radiation because of the facilities’ destruction.

Here is what Jeremiah said:

“Against Elam I will bring the four winds From the four quarters of heaven, And scatter them toward all those winds; There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go” (Jeremiah 46:39).

As I say, this is sad—tragic—if looked at as happening before the Rapture. There is a tremendous number of Christians in Iran, and reports have it that the number is growing spectacularly despite the evil regime’s efforts to stamp out believers in Christ. This might well be one more reason to add to the Rapture taking place before this prophecy is fulfilled—meaning that, with the seeming assault by Israel coming very soon, the great Rapture event might be sooner than even the most ardent Titus 2:13 watchman can imagine!

—Terry

Our Military Equipment Reserves Are Getting Low and Degraded

The U.S. military told Ukraine in a meeting last month that it won’t send long-range missiles because it has little to spare. The Biden administration has sent so much hardware to Ukraine, the readiness of our forces is starting to be questioned.

In recent meetings at the Pentagon, U.S. officials told Kyiv’s representatives that it doesn’t have any Army Tactical Missile Systems to spare, according to four people with knowledge of the talks. They said that transferring ATACMS to the battlefield in eastern Europe would dwindle America’s stockpiles and harm the U.S. military’s readiness for a future fight.

The Pentagon’s assessment of its stockpiles is informed in part by how many weapons and munitions planners think they might need to confront an enemy. Those plans have not been significantly revised since the start of the war in Ukraine, have not recalibrated what the stockpiles the U.S. might need in reserve to face a weakened Russia, or accounted for the fact that Ukraine is essentially fighting that war right now.

“With any package, we always consider our readiness and our own stocks while providing Ukraine what it needs on the battlefield,” said a senior DoD official. “There are other ways of providing Ukraine with the capabilities it needs to strike the targets.”

Ukraine is the country that Western nations just can’t say no to. If we run low on a certain weapon system, we will give them another one. At first, tanking-killing rockets were the first priority. When we ran low on them, advanced tanks were shipped to Ukraine.

Fresh off a successful trip to London, where he met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who pledged to help train Ukrainian pilots to fly NATO fighter jets, Ukraine president Zelenskyy said, “We have moved towards the solutions concerning the long-range missiles and the training of our pilots.… Also, there are certain agreements that are not public but are positive. When these items will happen, our state will know this, but I don’t want to prepare the Russian Federation.”

I don’t advocate backing away from Ukraine, but we need to realize that war is extremely expensive. I was in the Air Force for 20 years, and I saw firsthand the massive price tags that came with weapons of warfare.

When you spend money in one area, you quickly degrade capabilities in another area. This reality came last week when the U.S. said the British military is no longer an elite fighting force. It has lost the ability to defend its own air space. It would take Britain 5 to 10 years to restore capability to just one division.

Lockheed Martin has produced about 4,000 ATACMS in various configurations over the past two decades. Once these missiles are fired, it takes a long time to replace them.

The shortfall in military equipment is certainly affecting the Russian military. The Russians have had shortages in some of the most basic goods like ammo, gas, and food. As the Dictator of Russia, Putin doesn’t need to care about shortages. If his troops die, he’ll just send more to replace them. Another advantage that Putin has over the West is that his military hardware is much cheaper to make. If we spend $12 million on a jet, Moscow will only spend $300,000. Russian troops are paid a fraction of the ones in the West.

It is possible that Putin has a long-term financial strategy in the Ukraine conflict. He will allow the West to run up massive debts for the supplies they send to the war. Since Russian tanks are much simpler than American tanks, he could build up his force much faster for a future conflict, possibly one in the Middle East.

“Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you'” (Ezek 38:2-6).”

–Todd

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 The Trigger

Many of you know I view Jesus’ words as recorded in Luke to be perhaps the most important of all prophetic teachings regarding the coming world collapse into what will quickly become the Tribulation—Daniel’s seventieth week.

“Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed” (Luke 17:28–30).

As stated in these articles many times, I believe the Lord was speaking to our time. Even more specifically, I believe He might have had our very nation in mind when issuing this foretelling. Further, I believe Jesus was indicating that it will be God Himself, not man, that will bring the more or less normal way of doing business crashing down into chaos.

His “revealing” will trigger this collapse, I’m convinced.

Again, the Lord could not be talking here about the end of the Tribulation, as He is preparing to come back to put an end to the wickedness of mankind and their governments of destructiveness. There will be a scant few people on earth at that time due to the Judgment, wrath of God, and of Antichrist’s reign that will destroy many. The people who are alive will be hiding in caves begging the rocks to fall on them and hide them from the face of the returning Christ. It will not be business as usual, as indicated in the Luke 17:28-30 account.

Jesus is speaking here to the Rapture of the Church, in my view. Like in Lot’s being taken from the doomed city of Sodom, Christians being swept into the clouds from the doomed planet will be kept from that coming hour of horror (as promised in Revelation 3:10).

It will be this event—the Rapture of the Church—that will trigger the collapse of everything on earth. It will be a trigger pulled by the God of Heaven, who will finally have had enough of man’s wickedness.

Pete Garcia and I have written a book that talks about the disastrous chaos that will result when God’s righteous anger is released once His family is removed in the Rapture. The book’s title is New World Order: Worlds in Collision and the Rebirth of Liberty.

We have addressed many times in these commentaries—and Pete has done the same on his great website, Rev310.net—the globalist elite making plans to bring into place their desired changed global order. It will be the Antichrist regime outlined in Revelation chapter 13.

In our new book, we do our best to describe in detail how this will all be triggered into taking place as prophesied once the Church is removed in the Rapture. The following is a brief excerpt from the book that gives some idea of what is coming, we believe, in the near future. There will be great societal collapse at every level, and Antichrist will implement controls draconian even beyond those conjured in George Orwell’s imagination.

This Luciferian new order will have one more ace up its sleeve in uniting all the world’s remaining religions—artificial intelligence.

“What you try to do a thousand years ago with the priest preaching from the pulpit, you will be able to do in a far more invasive way in 10 or 15 years with all kinds of brain-computer interfaces and direct biological interventions” (Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus).

As has been noted by numerous biblical scholars and teachers, the coming Antichrist’s Beast kingdom will have three legs to its political structure—economic, military, and religious. However, we believe this coming system will have a fourth leg that seemingly enables (or supercharges) the other three—the supernatural.

According to Scripture, the Beast will begin as a ten-nation/region imperial power that rises up at a time of great global crisis and then imposes its political will over the entire earth…. It’s not a stretch to see how this political power will then extend into its economic authority to control all buying and selling everywhere. Militarily, the Beast will incorporate the latest and greatest technology information, surveillance, and deterrence weapons to enforce its iron-fisted political control over both people and economies.

Paradox Gained

Even though the public opinion or awareness of global governance has waxed and waned over the past hundred years, the plan has never wavered from the globalist mind. The continual push towards a singular, global government has wrought havoc everywhere it’s been implemented, and thus, as stated at the outset, their goal has been successful. The success is not in achieving global government but in achieving geopolitical and societal destabilization necessary for the peoples of the earth to cry out for one. Thus, their relentless chipping away at the US Constitution has put us dangerously close to the tipping point. As of 2022, it wouldn’t take much for us to collapse nationally; a simple nudge would move us into any number of existential crises.

The COVID-19 crisis, and the political, economic, and social disruptions it has caused, is fundamentally changing the traditional context for decision-making. The inconsistencies, inadequacies, and contradictions of multiple systems—from health and finance to energy and education—are more exposed than ever amidst a global context of concern for lives, livelihoods, and the planet. Leaders find themselves at a historic crossroads, managing short-term pressures against medium to long-term uncertainties with one-size-fits-all solutions. (The New World Order: Worlds in Collision and the Rebirth of Liberty, by Terry James and Pete Garcia, set to release spring of 2023.)

Try as they have been striving to do, the diabolist New World Order minions haven’t been able to bring down the United States of America. And they must have America’s great assets and Americans’ compliance in order to achieve their one-world regime. We believe it is the restraining hand of God that has to this point prevented America’s utter collapse. If America falls, the rest of the world will follow into complete collapse, and there will be a worldwide call for a leader to bring things back to a degree of normalcy. Antichrist will be ready with answers to restore order. But it will be a hellish order full of enslavement, death, and destruction.

The Rapture is the trigger that will initiate the move toward man’s final war at Armageddon.

You don’t want to be on planet Earth when God has pulled that trigger and removed His people to safety.

Here, again, is how to go to Christ when He calls the Church to Himself.

“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