The Resurgence of Covid-19

Hopes of a Covid-19 reprieve fade as the BA.5 subvariant takes over. Overall, the number of Covid-19 infections rose 30 percent globally in the past two weeks, with the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 driving the increase in Europe and the US. The World Health Organization agency said it was also following a new sublineage that had been detected in India.

Europe is at the center of a resurgence in infections as more people mix at large-scale events and travel, according to the WHO. “We are seeing a much more intense wave of the disease passing through Europe again,” Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said at a media briefing.

“And we will see it happen elsewhere – we are already seeing it in Southeast Asia and in the eastern Mediterranean region as well.”

The number of COVID cases is up sharply from year over year. On Jul 11, 2022, there were 133,678 cases. In Jul 2021, there were 22,000 cases. This is a sixfold increase. The number of deaths was 396 on JUL 11, 2022, compared to 224 deaths on JUL 11, 2021. The virus is clearly more contagious but less deadly.

The new wave of infections has not yet led to a surge in intensive-care admissions. Last week, Britain reported a 32 percent rise in infections and said that hospital admissions are climbing, with intensive-care cases spreading among older age groups. The rise in hospitalizations is still far below previous waves, and widespread vaccination has made the pandemic far less deadly.

In the past, I’ve urged people to get the vaccines, but I now see them as pointless. All the current vaccines are focused on the Omicron strain. There is now a three-generation gap, which makes it unlikely that they would be useful against the latest strains.

The turnaround on booster shots now needs to be so rapid that a chance of a dangerous vaccine is sharply higher. We may soon find the cure is worse than the virus. I am particularly worried about children under the age of five getting the vaccine. Their immune system is still developing, and they are at the greatest risk of a complication from any vaccine.

When I said it was generally safe to get the vaccine for the original covid virus in mid-2020, there had already been 2.5 billion shots given out. I would not want to be the first person to get the shot for subvariant BA.2.75. We use supercomputers to check for billions of possible chemical reactions in the human body. The real number of potential reactions is in the trillions, so at some point, we are going to run into a major problem.

One of the greatest dangers of Covid-19 is that we no longer see it as a danger. Director-General of WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently said the world is in a better situation to fight the virus now than it was back in 2020 when it started to sweep around the world. “We won’t be the hostage of the virus like we had in the past two years,” he said at the briefing. “We know the virus; we have better tools to fight it.”

At any point, Covid could mutate into a form that has a very high mortality rate. Since everyone is sick of wearing masks, a new mandate would be largely ignored. We’ve already spent $10 trillion on this virus. The world no longer has the capacity for round II.

The Covid-19 virus is just a warning of what will take place during the tribulation. Bible prophecy clearly indicates that there will be end-time diseases that will kill vast numbers of people. Rather than ending on a sad note by quoting one of these plague scriptures, I would rather conclude with the verse that reminds us that God’s grace is always with us:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

–Todd

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Love of Money: Evil

A question that frequently comes to mind: Why does it appear that, no matter which way we look in the world of national leadership, there are those in charge who seem bent on destroying our nation?

For example, consider that one writer described the Biden administration as having “throttled” US energy production. The president has trapped much of our nation’s vast energy reserves behind a wall of bureaucratic red tape. This action, which took place immediately after the president took office, has affected the American populace as few other economic decisions could.

Gas prices—as you no doubt can attest personally—have more than doubled in some areas around the country. We are now facing, according to some who are supposed to know, energy costs for our homes that will double in some areas of the nation.

All of this could begin to be instantly reversed by changing the energy policy back to the way it was before January of 2021.

But those who are in charge are in the camp of the “green” fanatics who constitute a very small percentage of the American population.

These have the complete support of the propagandists who are the national mainstream media and the Hollywood entertainment industry. They are the mouthpieces that day after day support every insane governmental policy imaginable.

This involves not only the destruction of energy that runs our industrial productivity, but the moral energy that the US inherited by our founding fathers, who saw fit to write into our Constitution and other documents common sense derived from God’s Word.

The question, again, is: Why are there those in leadership who are accomplishing the destruction of America?

We have often heard that America won’t be destroyed from outside forces, but by forces within. I used to doubt that when at university and even later, but not anymore. The erosion has become a caustic environment induced by leaders who seem to have lost their collective mind. They want to listen to the madness that is the mantra of the “Mother Earth” worshippers—the environmental wackos who say they believe we are destroying the earth through fossil fuels and must now go “green” in order to save the planet.

It is absolute madness, and we look at the leaders people keep electing who go along with all this insanity.

The answer is that the entire cabal that joins in this effort is controlled by the mind of Satan himself. It is Ephesians 6:12 “on steroids.”

But dissecting the things involved, we come to the crux of the matter. The cabal of leaders who are in control—many after decades of entrenchment within Washington, DC— are, I believe, in the financial pockets of the likes of George Soros and other elite globalist influencers. These influencers constitute the human element of the minions—the powers and principalities— in the high places of wickedness described by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:12.

Bottom line is the bottom line. That is, the Washington, DC, leaders, it is obvious, cast aside all concern for national well-being, for sovereignty, and all other facets involving our republic, including constitutional safeguards. They do so for one thing—to work toward financially feathering their own nests. The swamp is indeed a swamp of incestuous evil (in terms of nepotism and every other form of insider nefariousness).

Now, I’m not saying that every congressman, senator, or other government official is in this category. But certainly those in this category control and shape policies that are, evidence proves, tearing the nation apart. A nation so divided cannot stand, said Lincoln, who was taking that truth from Jesus.

These are doing the work of the evil one, whether realizing and acknowledging it or not. They are doing the globalist elites’ evil, which is, whether realizing it or not, doing the bidding of the mastermind behind the Great Reset blueprint to supposedly “build back better.”

It is the same old luciferic ploy: “I will ascend and put my star above the throne of God.”

He is the one who convinced the Tower of Babel builders to try to usurp that Holy Throne. He is back, in full fury, knowing that he has but a short time to try to turn around the fate that he will find impossible to avoid.

He plies these one-world builders and the DC swamp creatures with promises of great financial gain, appealing to one of fallen man’s most lusted-after commodity. He appeals to their love of money, which is the root of all sorts of evil (1 Timothy 6:10).

Money buys power and influence, which is at the nucleus of fallen man’s pride and anti-God lusts. As Henry Kissinger once said, “Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.”

The wicked geopoliticians lust after what the devil offers—great wealth and power. It will bring them, they think, the ultimate in satisfaction and pleasure. They refuse to believe that God in Heaven owns everything of material and spiritual wealth, and He created it all in absolute perfection. Satan and his minions—both demonic and human—have perverted that which God created.

To be in Christ, who paid in full for the sins of mankind, is to be a joint heir with Christ. Those in God’s family are to have all the wonders He owns.

The love of God, not the love of money, is where true riches await those who accept God’s grace gift of salvation.

Here, again, is how to become a joint heir with Jesus Christ:

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

Why Do People Go to Russia, China, and North Korea?

We need to ban all US citizens from going to nations run by Dictators. I would never visit a country where the leadership could willy-nilly decide to prevent me from leaving their domain. By going to a nation like Russia, China, and North Korea, people are providing them with tourist money, and they are lending them legitimacy.

I would not even want to fly over a nation run by a tyrant. Last year the government of Belarus forced a commercial flight to land in the country so they could arrest dissident journalist Raman Protasevich. A Ryanair flight bound for Lithuania was forced to land because Belarus officials reported a bomb threat. When the flight reached the tarmac, officials from the country’s security forces loaded passengers onto airport buses and took the journalist into custody. Pratasevich was captured because he criticized President Alexander Lukashenko.

The reason why we need a travel ban is that this has turned into a game where dictators like to have a constant supply of hostages so they can trade them for criminals that we have on our side. The latest pawn is basketball star Brittney Griner. She was arrested at Moscow’s main airport when it was discovered that she had hash oil in her luggage.

Our standard policy on Griner should be “if can do the time, don’t do the crime,” but no, we took the bait, and a “free Brittney” movement has popped up. Now that Griner’s name is constantly in the news, there is no way Moscow is going to let her go free. She is currently on trial and will obviously get the maximum penalty.

You know it’s officially become a media circus when the Rev. Al Sharpton shows up. He is seeking the administration’s help in securing a clergy visit to see Griner in Moscow.

Asked about the Biden administration’s response, Sharpton said, “I certainly think they could have done more. I think there has not been a lot of vocal support. I understand the sensitivities in these negotiations, but I think at some point, after four months, you have to raise the public outrage on this.”

President Biden has now become involved in this matter. Griner wrote to him in recent days, saying she was “terrified I might be here forever.” This mess is being described as having “particular sensitivities” because it involves the failure to obtain the release of a black gay woman.

The Russians have offered to trade Griner for someone we have in custody. Moscow would like to obtain the release of Viktor Bout, an infamous Russian arms dealer nicknamed ‘The Merchant of Death.’ Bout was sentenced to 25 years on terrorism charges in a 2012 trial in New York. I would hope that Washington would find this trade unpalatable, both morally and politically.

It’s nice that the White House in April achieved the release of former marine Trever Reed from Russian custody. He was sentenced to nine years in prison in July 2020 for endangering the “life and health” of Russian police officers. They might as well have put Reed in jail because he looked guilty.

A former Marine is now free, but so is a drug dealer. In order to make the trade, President Biden had to commute the sentence of Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian smuggler convicted of conspiring to import cocaine. If Reed was not in Russia, the drug dealer would still be in jail. Now Yaroshenko can go back to smuggling cocaine.

I don’t think we should allow their people in our country. Over the years, China and Russia have stolen vast amounts of our technology. If it wasn’t for spying, Russia would not have developed the atomic bomb until the mid-1950s. China is a master of espionage. It will soon have a bigger economy than us, largely based on the fact that it robbed us blind on all fronts.

I don’t think America should be xenophobic in its relationship with the world. We should at least do better in picking what nations we decide to have as our friends. We poured billions into the Russian economy, and now because of the Ukraine war, we have lost nearly all of our investments. We should let history be our guide, but we will continue to suffer the imprisonment of our citizens and the loss of our money because of simple greed.

“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 5:10).

–Todd

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Nuclear War–To Be or Not To Be

There are growing worries among politicians and pundits about the likelihood of nuclear war on the brink. That is, the fear that the Russian/Ukrainian conflict will soon break out in all-out nuclear exchanges.

The Biden administration sending troops to areas such as in Poland to demonstrate to Vladimir Putin America’s determination to thwart Russia’s aggression is at the center of the concern. NATO’s bellicose threats, and particularly rhetoric by European governments, add to the angst.

At the same time, reports coming out of Russia tell that Russian TV broadcasts are announcing that American cities are in Russia’s targeting plans if nuclear war is unleashed. One pundit, who is an author promoting his book, and who is, to my way of thinking, one who believes Americans should prep for nuclear war, says that Russia’s understanding is that the first nation to launch all-out nuclear war has the best chance of surviving as a nation.

Here is some of that cogitating by a book author who simply calls himself “Michael.”

There will be nuclear war if we stay on this path.  Almost every day, we get more news about how both sides are escalating the conflict in Ukraine.  If the American people truly understood what was at stake, there would be giant protests in the streets of every major U.S. city right now.  But they don’t.  Most of us are entirely convinced that our leaders can do whatever they want in Ukraine without sparking a nuclear war.  But the Russians see things very differently.  On Russian television there are endless discussions about how the war in Ukraine is really a proxy war between the United States and Russia, and pundits openly discuss the possibility that eventually nuclear weapons will be used.  In fact, the destruction of specific U.S. cities has even been discussed on Russian television, but most Americans never hear anything about this…

Unfortunately, our leaders seem to have no interest in ending the conflict in Ukraine.  Instead, they just keep doing things to raise tensions even higher. (“If We Keep Escalating This Conflict, the End Result Will Be a Nuclear Cataclysm,” Michael, End Of The American Dream 2022, Rapture Ready News, July 2, 2022)

President Biden said he will be sending thousands of American troops to Eastern Europe, particularly to the area of Poland. Additionally, he plans to send many ships and planes, as well as tremendous battle-support equipment of various kinds.

He announced that the US will reinforce troop deployments in Romania, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. NATO will enhance its battle groups in the eastern part of the alliance up to brigade levels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced Monday.

The writer of the article concludes that all of this looks to Vladimir Putin to be an invasion of Russian-overseen territory. The Russian leader, himself, is ratcheting up military action by placing nuclear-capable ballistic missiles in Belarus, a NATO-neighboring Russian ally that housed the forces that invaded Ukraine and attacked Kiev.

There is talk of Russia looking at Cuba as an area near America to place Russian missiles. The writer says that should set off alarm bells to those who might remember the year 1962. And, speaking as one who does well remember that year and the Cuban Missile Crisis, it will indeed set off alarm bells if it eventuates.

So, like the question by William Shakespeare’s character, Prince Hamlet, in his soliloquy in a scene in the play by the same name, “To be, or not to be, that is the question,” we ask. “Nuclear war: To be, or not to be?”

I believe the answer is both “no” and “yes.”

The writer of the article gives statistics informing, according to supposed experts, just how total would be a nuclear war between, primarily, the United States and Russia. While the outlook is bleak, there would be many survivors. As a matter of fact, he reported only about 20 percent of people in America would be killed initially by the horrific weapons used. But there would be many more who would starve to death due to weather-related crop failures because of nuclear radioactive fallout and health-related radiation factors.

Like always, we look to God’s Word for answers. And it is there we find both answers above, I’m of the opinion.

“No,” there will not be nuclear war as described by all the people who, rightfully, castigate the military-industrial complex for war-mongering. This is because Jesus, Himself, tells us that people will be buying, selling, planting, building, marrying, etc.—normal activity right up to the time He next catastrophically intervenes into the affairs of mankind. It will be just like in the days of Lot, He said (Luke 17:26–30).

First, Lot and his family, living in a wicked but very prosperous city, were removed to Zoar. Then God nuked both Sodom and Gomorrah–to such an extent that they are just now finding evidence of the destruction of those totally debauched cities.

So the second answer, “yes,” is found in that same story. It will be like in Lot’s day. So there will be great nuclear-level destruction.

Of course, this will take place after the next event on God’s prophetic calendar: the Rapture of the Church.

We see pre-proof of this coming nuclear destruction, for example, when the kings of the east kill up to one-third of all the people of earth when they cross the Euphrates into the occidental world. The ability to destroy that vast number of human beings almost certainly has to be from nuclear weaponry.

I really am convinced that there will be no all-out nuclear war–no World War III–this side of the Rapture.

But there is a matter even more pressing than the fear of nuclear war. If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior from the sin into which you and I were born, you will face much worse than nuclear devastation. You will spend eternity in everlasting torment, apart from God, who loves you and wants you to be with Him.

Here is how to make certain you will go into His presence either at death or when Jesus calls believers to Himself in the Rapture.

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