The PZ Insider Report – Egypt in The Last Days
Transcription
The PZ Insider Report – Egypt in The Last Days
The PZ Insider Report – Egypt in The Last Days August 19, 2013 From time to time I will sit behind this screen and just stare at it. Nothing seems to jell or nothing comes together. I have to admit that there are a lot of things going on in my head, but they are all a jumble. I know of several topics I would like to write about, but they are still sitting out there in the fog. It does not help me that they just sit there either. There are a lot of things going on in the world that has my attention. 1 www.prophezine.com Some of you have asked what I think about Egypt. I personally see what is happening as laying the groundwork for prophecy. Daniel 11 talks about the king of the north invading the king of the south. Back then it was Antiochus Epiphanies. He was the first King of the North that Daniel spoke of. Most people stop there and do not continue on in chapter 11 of Daniel. If we read further, we see that Daniel prophecies of a second king of the north who will basically do the same thing again and that is invade Egypt. As many of you know I do not buy into a EU Antichrist. I believe that he will rise up out of the Middle East. Now will he be Muslim or not, I am not 100% sure. What I do know is that he will be a “Luciferian” for sure. What is a Luciferian? I have an ebook out there titled “My Name is Lucifer” which I go into great detail showing that Lucifer and his name has been with us for a very long time. He has done a great job of graffiti-ing his name all over the world right in front of our own eyes. Most of the time we have ignored it and it is oblivious to us. Never the less, it is there. More about my book “My Name Is Lucifer” follows below after this article. I am going down a rabbit trail, back to the king of the North. The king of the north invaded the king of the south (Egypt) and while he was doing this, also decided to invade and take over Israel. The next King of the North AKA The antichrist, will do the same thing. The Muslim Brotherhood (MuBro) gained a foothold in Egypt, but as you can see that did not work out so well. 2 www.prophezine.com The MuBro’s plans were to unify the Middle East into one big happy Muslim family, but it is not working out either. Egypt has rejected the MuBro and it is looking like they have kicked them out. This is not making the rest of the Middle East that is falling under the MuBro confederacy very happy and is in fact they are alienating Egypt. This also does not bode well with the current administration who openly supports the MuBro. US is worried because oil and gas routes could become “iffy”, and then there’s the matter of the 25 Egyptian police killed near the Sinai as well as other body counts going up in Egypt. Not looking good. But with all that saber rattling al Qaeda is doing what isn’t making the headlines is what Saudi Arabia is doing that is giving $2-billion to the military government of Egypt. A report from Russia Today (RT) last week that a Saudi prince – Khaled Bin Farhan Al-Saud – has defected to the West because of the suppression of democratic reforms in Saudi lands. This key development has not been missed by Iran’s government press which reports how a “Saudi prince slams Riyadh crackdown, corruption” and these are very hot keywords in the contexting being played on both sides. And a second indication of the seriousness of the Saudi internals comes as we notice that as the weekend drew to a close “Saudi prince Alwaleed fires TV preacher for Brotherhood Links.” A closer look at recent actions of billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal reveals that he is trying to walk a very difficult balance here. On the one hand, he is trying to keep the MuBros from gaining a foot in Saudi homelands, any more than the Wahabi already have, and yet at the same time he’s already said that proposed oil and gas fracking for petroleum would cause a threat to the Kingdom. So there is a lot going on there that is not really being covered. To put it in plain black and white, it is appearing that that kingdom of the south (Egypt) and the kingdom of the north (The Assyrian – AC) are being placed back on the “game board” exactly as scripture has foretold in Daniel 11. We might see an invasion of Egypt by a group of MuBro nations as punishment for leaving the MuBro confederacy. I believe that the one who leads that invasion is The Assyrian spoken of in scripture. He will also invade Israel as a side line. Hey, he is in the neighborhood, why not invade Israel too? It is all right there in scripture, read Daniel 11. Just as a side note, where else to you read about a “confederacy”? Have you ever counted how many kingdoms (kings) are part of that confederacy? Find the confederacy and you have found the kings. They align themselves with the AC, AKA The Assyrian / The king of the north. 3 www.prophezine.com As a final note and a whole other article in itself, I believe that Christ will start His battle with Israel’s enemies starting with Egypt. He will then wipe out the rest of Israel’s enemies spoken about in Isaiah chapters 10 – 21. You know all those “Burdens of” you read about? In fact many of you know of “The Burden of Damascus” found in Isaiah 17. Contrary to popular belief, that portion of Isaiah has to do with Christ’s Second Return. It is a chronicle of what He will do. When you read it as a whole, you begin to see that. Isaiah 17 is not a stand alone event, it is Christ taking His promised revenge upon the enemies of Israel. The final enemy is The Assyrian himself, also known as the Antichrist and we join Christ at this final battle. This is why His garments are covered in blood spoken about in Revelation 19. He was slaying Israel’s enemies. Revelation 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. I believe His promise of revenge will start in Egypt. This is why I am watching Egypt with a keen eye. With that I am honored to present the following articles in this week’s PZ Insider Report. Getting Through Another Day - By Barbara Henderson Each New Generation Must Learn the Difference Between Relativism and Absolute Truth - By Fred DeRuvo Keeping a Prophetic Eye on Egypt - By Bill Wilson The Process of Persecution - By Paul Estabrooks Why I Enjoy "Home Church" - By Belle Ringer Please Continue To Keep Us in Prayer Please pray for the following things… More PZ Insiders – We still continue to lose PZ Insiders due to the economy and such. If you get PZ Insider information and you are a 6 month or yearly and you know you have not renewed in a while, please contact me and consider renewing. 4 www.prophezine.com ALSO… if you are someone who we have given grace to and now you are in a better position to be a paying PZ Insider, please stand in the gap with us, please renew and support our work here. PZ Bible Study – I am putting this together and I hope to start this soon. I have Pal Talk and I am also learning how to run the room. There is a lot there to learn, but we will be able to offer audio, video and also show videos during the study. I think there are more benefits as well and I am still learning. I encourage you to get Pal Talk ( http://www.paltalk.com ) it is a free app that you can download for Mac & PC. They have it for iPad and Android as well. If you get it, do a search on me ( Ray Gano-Prophezine ) and add me to your friend list. Ministry Visa – We do not qualify for the two primary long term visas here in Costa Rica, but we do qualify for the long term ministry visa. We need to find a church or ministry that will sponsor us so that we can then apply for this sort of visa. If you are involved with a Missionary board or know of ministries here in Costa Rica that can possibly help us obtain this visa, please contact us. Please pray that God will open the doors for this visa so that we do not have to make these 90 day boarder runs. They tend to be stressful as we get closer and closer to our mandatory exit date. This is a biggie on our prayer list and the more people we have praying for us regarding this issue, the better. We know that if we can get a ministry visa more opportunities will open themselves up to us In the end God is in control and he directs our steps. He brought us here for a reason and we know that it will be His glory that will be exalted. In His Service, Ray & Tracye Gano Prophezine 5 www.prophezine.com - My Name is Lucifer - eBook By Ray Gano - 6 www.prophezine.com What Others Are Saying... I'm only on page 18 of your book and already am blown away. I have felt this for a long while about the symbols you showed in the book so far. The first picture on the left of page 18 says, "I am the beauty of the green earth and the white moon among the stars" I immediately thought of the whole green movement in connection with the lie of global warming. Wow! I just told my group in Youth at our church, that any religion other than Christianity is satanic. They looked at me kind of funny and then I explained. Oh God, wake up all of Your people. -- PZ Insider Angela =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=Around 2005 I started paying attention to a symbol/s that seemed to appear at almost every turn of the corner. What one symbol seemed to keep appearing everywhere? In fact, one could almost call it graffiti. What I discovered was that his name was right in front of our noses all this time. Heylel Ben Shachar, Lucifer, The Light-Bearer. What followed were AMAZING findings and something that should wake all of us up. We are not alone on the battlefield and we are possibly even outnumbered. For any donation over $5.00 I want to email you the link to this e-book so that you can download it and read it. It is approx 7 megs / 50+ page long PDF that is chock full of proof and pictures of my findings. Here is something to think about. What does... 7 www.prophezine.com - Paganism - Freemasonry - Mormonism - Catholicism - Even some corporations all have in common? You will be blown away at the evidence I uncovered. It has been right in front of us all this time. Now to be honest, I hope that there are some folks out there that would be willing to donate $10, $20, $50 maybe more it will help in our efforts here at Prophezine. Pay Pal a Gift More Than $5.00 To Get This E-Book http://tinyurl.com/Donate-to-Prophezine 8 www.prophezine.com Getting Through Another Day By Barbara Henderson The last few weeks have been odd. Nothing seems to be in order even though things appear outwardly to be in order. It is possible that I may have been less than cheerful. Several articles have been started, but none have been finished. In re-reading them I noticed that I was once again throwing written temper tantrums. There are in fact things in the world that make me very angry. Watching the news is like watching a television soap opera! I’m going to give you a little of each article because they are relevant to what I am actually writing about today. The first thing that has me really ticked off is Christians ‘engaging in the culture’ by watching filthy movies and uses gutter language. Here is the first part of that article… ‘How do you feel about gutter language. Does the ‘F’ word offend you? How about taking the Lord’s name in vain? Does that bother you? What about smutty violent movies that really don’t have a plot? Are you willing to accept movies with lots of ‘special effects’ even if the language and nudity are more than half the movie? Many Christians are totally comfortable with gutter language and trash movies. They say things like, well you can’t judge movies by their rating. For instance ‘The Passion of Christ’ is rated ‘R’. And people shouldn’t judge others by what they say, but rather by what they do. So, if a person uses utterly vile language but does some good work then we should ignore their potty mouth. Or if someone thinks they can watch explicit sex scenes and violence without actually being affected by it, then it is perfectly alright for them to watch anything that shoots out of Hollywood’s rear end. There used to be some discussions regarding where to draw the line. Apparently in all the discussion a line was never drawn. Now many Christians or so-called Christians defend their potty mouths and vile television/movie habits as ways to interact and engage the worldly culture. Their pristine goal is to evangelize. HA! It’s filth and they love it. Others say something like, ‘IF Christians don’t engage in the culture we won’t have any say in the culture’. OK – if a Christian spends time swearing, watching smutty movies, and engaging the culture by spending time with the group in bars, they have joined the culture….’ 9 www.prophezine.com The second thing that has me really ticked off is the selfish jealous brats who are in charge of government, society, culture, business, and even some churches and families! Here is a little bit of that article…… ‘People think of jealous people as being people who want something belonging to someone else. It could be anything from your body size and shape to your job to your very white straight teeth. A closer look at jealousy reveals that jealous people really don’t want what you have, but they don’t want you to have it either! They want you to have nothing! Manipulative people with some level of power will do whatever they can to see that you don’t have anything. Politically their agenda is spun to sound or appear as though they are working to make sure the people with less are given more. They do it in the name of fairness and compassion. In reality they care nothing for the poor and the needy. They are simply jealous of those who are prospering at least to some extent. It works the same way from the key political and even religious leaders of the world all the way down to families, churches, business, sports, hobbies, and everything else! By the way, a very common clue to jealousy in action is an attack on the integrity and character of innocent people. We see this played out all the time in politics. Liberals love to attack conservatives. They want to destroy them. They have no logical explanation for their own personal actions, so they make personal attacks. All this is done in the name of ‘helping the poor’ when what they are actually doing is keeping their foot on the necks of the poor. They really don’t want to help the poor. They want to make everyone poor. A very big problem the world is facing is the number of brats in the adult population! A brat used to be considered a spoiled rude child. The hope was that a brat would eventually grow out of being a brat and at least learn how to get along in the world in a semi-normal manner. Today, brats never grow up. They get elected to public office. They never learn to consider other people’s rights. Right and wrong have nothing to do with their personal agendas. They are first and foremost concerned with getting what they want when they want it. They do not care who they step on and hurt as they struggle daily to fulfill all their dreams at the same time. These selfish jealous brats are bullies! Consider Obamacare – The bullies in government wanted it as part of their ‘make everyone poor plan’, and they hammered the people until they got it…..’ (end quoted article) So, you see I haven’t been in the best of moods. Articles that focus entirely on the negatives in the world may be entirely true, and we may need to be aware of what is going on. Reading articles on social, political, and regional turmoil is actually a good way to understand various situations and help us be better able to articulate the problems to ourselves and those we talk to. But ultimately what we are looking for is a way through the wilderness that passes for civilization today. This is what I have realized. Sitting in the same place fussing about the same things is not helpful to anyone. It is especially hard on the person stuck there, and that radiates out to the rest of the family as well. It is very hard to, ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven’ when you are angry at worldly people causing you trouble. (quote Matthew 5:16 KJV) 10 www.prophezine.com What is the solution? How do we change things for the better? I suggest some things that individual Christians can do. First, look at the world realistically. It really is a dangerous filthy place. Obstacles faced daily are: The sin nature The world system The devil. We are fighting a three front war all the time. Take it seriously! Ask any military strategist how hard that is! It takes up a lot of time and resources. That is why the Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. That is to maintain a prayerful attitude. ‘Lord – help us not to sin’ is a prayer that should be circulating through our brains all the time. Another constant prayer should be, ‘help me to please you in what I do today.’ A constant prayer that I like is, ‘HELP!’ We should probably all write a note on our bathroom mirror that says, ‘Remember you are in a war – be prepared!’ We have to take the war seriously before we can prepare for battle! If you think you can engage the culture by engaging in the things of this world then you are actually engaging in foolishness. The outward things reflect the inner person. An individual may be comfortable with gutter language, filthy entertainment, and bar room recreation, but does anyone really think that Jesus is comfortable with that? Start taking God seriously. The life of every individual is God’s hands. When you start taking God seriously you don’t want to hurt His feelings. Yes He will forgive your sins as you forgive others. Yes He loves you unconditionally. God also asks certain things from you. God wants you to study His word so you will know His instructions for living. It is not about ‘how you feel’. It is about what God says to do. So many times in life we are in situations where we beat our heads against the wall trying to figure out what to do. In times like that we can do what we know to do. Love God and keep the commandments. Treat others the way we want to be treated. Continue in good works. Eventually the difficult situation will change; a solution will present itself; or you may even see a providential solution to something that has seemed like all the plagues of Egypt rolled into one in your life. Remember, ‘And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.’ (Galatians 6:9) Choose your friends and mentors wisely. Get your priorities straight when it comes to who you care about. The proper order is God, family, Godly friends, and the rest of the world. There is a trend to set work relationships above God and family. The people you work with should never be in a place of importance above your family. Of course you should be kind to the people you work with. Some co-workers may become family friends. But you should never forget that your time after work belongs to your family 99.9% of the time. Family activities start with church. (I don’t think you are obligated to be involved in church activities to the point that they interfere with family life, but actual Bible teaching/preaching is very important.) 11 www.prophezine.com Just to wrap things up remember to be action based instead of outcome based. That means to do the best you can do in whatever you do, and let the outcome be in God’s hands. If you have done all you can do in a situation that you find heart breaking or extremely important I suggest a private prayer vigil of 40 days. During this time you will have to function in your daily life, but continually throughout the days and nights bring the same thing up to God in prayer and thanksgiving. Every time the sorrow or worry comes to mind you immediately turn it back to God and ask for His help. If the first 40 days don’t get results move right on to the next 40 days. Mark it down on your calendar every morning. None of us can ‘MAKE’ something change or happen on our own. Psalm 127:1 reminds us, ‘Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.’ I always like to consider 1 Corinthians 4:2 which says, ‘Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.’ We are stewards of the things God has given to us including material and spiritual. Make a diligent effort to consistently and joyfully do what is right according to Bible doctrine and put the outcome in God’s hands. Then you can mentally rest in the Lord. God bless you. Please remember to pray for each other. Barbara 12 www.prophezine.com Each New Generation Must Learn the Difference Between Relativism and Absolute Truth By Fred DeRuvo The same relativistic "truth" that we suffer from today was on display during Jesus' day. That much is made clear with a short conversation Jesus had with Pontius Pilate during one of numerous illegal trials that took place in one evening. John 18 provides the narrative of Judas betraying Jesus, His arrest, and His illegal trials that took place beginning shortly after that arrest. Jesus was taken from priests to Pilate in order to determine whether He was guilty of a crime or not. As far as the Jewish priests were concerned, Jesus was most certainly guilty. Unfortunately for them, they were not allowed to execute anyone so they brought Him before Pilate who would be able to sentence Jesus to a state execution. During the back and forth between Jesus and Pilate, Jesus tells Pilate of His kingdom that was not of this world (v. 36). Based on this admission, Pilate asks, "So You are a king?" (v. 37). At this point, Jesus responds with, "You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." To this, we can almost see the sneer on Pilate's face as he retorts with a rhetorical question, "What is truth?" What is truth? This has been and continues to be the age-old question that every person will answer, either in this life or the next. In the Garden of Eden, Satan twisted truth to mean something it did not mean. Because of it, two people turned from God in rebellion and began a lifetime of following relativism (Genesis 3). Humankind has followed their lead ever since. Today, the same question applies to us and to every situation. What is truth? We have a choice in this world. We can follow the relativism that has been created by political correctness and which is based on emotional virtue or we can look to God's truth and follow that. Those are really the only two choices that every person must come to grips with in every decision they make. It is clear that today's world is guided by political correctness. For many, it leads to "truth" but that "truth" is based normally on how a person feels about a situation. This is what Pilate was getting at. To him, truth was only a general idea based on circumstances that prompted people to move in one direction or another. For Pilate, there was no such thing as an absolute truth. For Jesus, there was and is and that absolute truth must always be considered when making decisions. 13 www.prophezine.com If God exists, then it logically follows that there can only be one absolute truth. There cannot be several "truths." It doesn't work that way. But for many, that is the way they live their lives. What was an untruth yesterday has become truth today for much of society and that kind of truth is always changing, which proves that it is not actually truth, but simply something that tries to resemble truth. In the end, it's a very poor parody of absolute truth. It is amazing how nothing has really changed with humanity. A new generation of people come and another one goes. The new generation needs to learn the difference between absolute and relative truth. That new generation also then needs to decide which truth it will follow. It cannot be both ways. Either absolute truth is truth, or relative truth is truth. Both cannot be truth. Logic dictates that only one can be truth. It is up to each person to decide which truth he or she will follow and hopefully, the correct choice will be made. 14 www.prophezine.com Keeping a Prophetic Eye on Egypt By Bill Wilson The occupant of the Oval Office has torched the Middle East by supporting the terrorist sponsoring, Caliphate promoting Muslim Brotherhood and all of its military alliances. Herein, is where the United States became an overt catalyst of end time prophecy. With a brief respite during the Reagan years, the US has been incrementally moving toward supporting the antichrist end time movement since President Jimmy Carter. The actions of the current Administration have no doubt moved the prophecy clock forward. All the nations that are specifically mentioned in scriptures as coming against Jerusalem in the Day of the Lord are now in play and the situation in Egypt could be a key indicator. Ezekiel 38-39 and Zechariah 12-14 describe a colossal end time battle where nations such as Iran, Turkey, Sudan, Libya, parts of Syria and Iraq, and others stand to fight against Jerusalem. Egypt has its own special place in prophecy. It has been a place of refuge for the Messianic line. It has been friend and foe, but we can see in Isaiah what will happen in Egypt as the end times approach. We know that there is a highway that extends from Assyria to Egypt. We know that the Assyrian (who many identify as the antichrist) goes to Egypt for spoil. We know that because of the oppressors that Egyptians will cry out to the Lord "and he shall send them a savior, and a great one, and he shall deliver them." Before that, however, there is much turmoil. Isaiah 19:1-4 says, "The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts." The current situation in Egypt seems to be described by these verses. There is Egyptians against Egyptians. There are definitely idols. Brothers are fighting against brothers--as we have seen in several places beginning with Ishmael and his descendants. The current Egypt could very well be a type and shadow of what will happen in the end times. We may be moving toward them more swiftly than most would think. They may be birth pangs pointing toward the Day of the Lord. However, you might view these things and America's role in them, there is one thing for certain: We need to watch and pray and be that faithful servant of Matthew 24 doing the will of the Lord while the master is away. 15 www.prophezine.com The Process of Persecution By Paul Estabrooks DISINFORMATION This stage of persecution is characterized by unchecked ridicule and disinformation against a targeted group (Christian or others), most often spread through media. In this stage Christians are robbed of their good reputation and the right to answer the accusations made against them. Media, politics, entertainment, publications and schools are most often the avenues used to spread such insinuations or lies. If disinformation about any group is disseminated long enough, no one will help in later stages because of this negative brainwashing about them. It essentially dehumanizes the person and is a pattern of thinking that may make it easier for milder wrongs to ignite a chain reaction of events. It creates an “us-versus-them” mentality. A classic historic example is the gross disinformation the German Nazis spread about the Jews, which then developed into a literal negative symbol, when Jewish homes and businesses were marked with "Stars of David" and then targeted. This also can result in verbal stereotyping. In the Rwanda genocide, the term “cockroach” became a negative classification of all Tutsi as conspirators against the government. There are many significant global examples of disinformation used against our Christian brothers and sisters. The influence and impact of negative television programs against Protestant Christians in an autonomous region in Central Asia is very strong. A local pastor was shown on TV and, without reference to any evidence, labelled “an enemy of the state.” His family members’ pictures were also shown at the same time causing them to be despised by their community. Recently a Christian woman who was shown on TV was not able to continue her work in a kiosk in the market. Other vendors forced her to leave the bazaar. One local pastor says, “Since the program is shown regularly on TV, persecution has become worse. Some people have left the church out of fear. When you start to preach (to the public), people close up and say, 'we have heard about you, we don’t want to listen.'” In North Korea, the entire society is controlled by propaganda and disinformation. Persecution is so severe that in many Christian families, children are not even told about the family’s faith in 16 www.prophezine.com Jesus until they are young adults because they are encouraged and expected to inform on their parents while in their school years. Christians are considered "enemies of the state" and the disinformation about this is widespread. Similarly, in countries like Laos, the government disinformation is that Christianity is an American religion being used to infiltrate their country rather than the former military methods. All Christians are thus portrayed as being traitors and working for America. INJUSTICE Christians experiencing persecution are following in the footsteps of their master, Jesus. In Acts chapter eight, Philip revealed to the Ethiopian eunuch that the passage from Isaiah 53 he was reading from referred to Jesus who indeed was deprived of justice. Today in the Western world, we would describe His trial before crucifixion as occurring in a “kangaroo court!” If disinformation about any group, including Christians, is disseminated long enough, no one will help when that group or person is discriminated against. Discrimination relegates Christians to second-class citizenship with inferior legal, social, political and economic status. Once discrimination takes place, no one will intervene when the mistreatment comes. Examples of such injustice against Christians abound around the world: • ID cards in a country where Christianity is an unacceptable entry in the religion column. • Daughters abducted because they are Christians. • Expulsion from the community just because they are evangelicals. Christians in Pakistan are a small minority among a large Muslim majority and often face such discrimination. The problem is compounded by the fact that many Christians are illiterate and poor. One Christian teacher at a center training Christian women recently said, “We do face discrimination because we live in the midst of people who don’t want us to move forward; people who keep trying to push us down so that we will always be in slavery.” But there is one repeated scene of injustice against Christians that occurs in Pakistan which brings me to tears which involves young Christian girls. As a father of two daughters and having six granddaughters, I shudder every time I read news reports that describe Christian family injustice in this land. The stories usually work out this way... Muslim women must marry Muslim men but Muslim men are allowed to marry any woman they wish with the proviso that any children must be raised as Muslim. Consequently in Pakistan there are Muslim men who often desire some of the very beautiful young Christian girls in the community but realize there is no way their Christian families will agree to marriage. So these men resort to abduction. The Christian father’s only option is to go to court where the judge—usually a Muslim—hears the case and pronounces to the Christian father, “Your daughter voluntarily converted to Islam and voluntarily married this Muslim man so you are to have no more contact with her.” One of 17 www.prophezine.com the most recent cases involved two young Christian sisters aged thirteen and ten. In this case, the judge allowed the ten-year-old to return home to her family but not the thirteen-year-old. Safwan, a secret believer in Algeria, found a Christian pamphlet between the paperwork given him at work and started reading it. Upon discovering him reading the pamphlet, his boss reported him to the police. Later that night the police visited him and searched his entire home. They found Christian CD’s, several Christian movies and a New Testament. “It was clear to them that I had become a Christian. My boss fired me.” MISTREATMENT When the process gets to persecution (mistreatment following disinformation and discrimination), no one will do anything because, “You know they are bad people anyway,” says Rev. Dr. Johan Candelin, referring to his three-step process of persecution model. Once the first steps in the process occur, mistreatment can be practiced without normal protective measures taking place. Persecution can arise from the state, the police or military, extremist organizations, paramilitary groups, anti-Christian sub-cultures, and even representatives of other religious groups. The irony is that in many parts of the world, the accusations of the attackers turn the victims into the villains. This stage is the end result and includes the “big three” of torture, imprisonment and martyrdom, which are most often the examples used for persecution. A specific example would be the imprisonment of hundreds of evangelical Christians in Eritrea without formal charges—many kept in metal shipping containers. In Iran, a Christian couple was detained and physically and psychologically tortured for four days. The authorities even threatened to lock up their four-year-old daughter in an “institution.” Twenty-eight-year-old Tina Rad from Teheran was accused of “activities against the holy religion of Islam,” because she was reading the Bible with Muslims. Her thirty-one-year-old husband, Makan Arya, was accused of having endangered national security. Both of them had only been Christians for three months. Muslim converts meet together in small groups to talk about the gospel, to grow in the Christian faith and to encourage one another. They have made a vast transition from Islam to Christianity, and they have a great need of training, security and a sense of belonging. The Church tries to provide for this need and becomes the new “family.” When they were released, the threats started. “If you don’t stop with your Jesus, next time we will charge you with apostasy,” Tina was told. In Iran, this can mean the death penalty. Jamaa Ait Bakrim in Morocco is also serving time for his faith. Moroccan Christians and advocates question the harsh measures of the Muslim state toward a man who dared speak openly about Jesus. An outspoken Christian convert, Bakrim was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for “proselytizing” and destroying “the goods of others”, in 2005 after burning two defunct utility poles located in front of his private business in a small town in south Morocco. Advocates and Moroccan Christians said, however, that the severity of his sentence in relation to his misdemeanor shows that authorities were determined to put him behind bars because he 18 www.prophezine.com persistently spoke about his faith. “He became a Christian and didn’t keep it to himself,” said a Moroccan Christian and host for Al Hayat Television, who goes only by his first name, Rachid, for security reasons. “He shared it with people around him. They will just leave him in the prison so he dies spiritually and psychologically,” said Rachid. PERSEVERANCE The greatest example of Christian perseverance for me is Sister Alice Yuan from China. Her pastor husband, Allen Yuan, was imprisoned for almost twenty-two years for refusing to join the government controlled church in the middle 1950’s. She says... “When my husband Allen was sent to prison in April 1958, I was told that I would never see him again. I felt completely miserable and continually blamed God. The future looked so terribly bleak. I had the care of six children and my mother-in-law. I was only earning 80 cents-a-day. How could I keep my family alive on that? When it all became too much for me, one night I heard a voice, 'My child, I have everything in My hands. These things come from Me.' I replied, 'If these things come from You, please protect me and my family. Do not allow me to dishonor Your name. I want to serve You and glorify Your name.' Then I received peace in my heart. I was encouraged by Psalm 68:19, Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. In those difficult years, people let me down, but God never abandoned me. But He did put me through trials. The first trial was the struggle to survive. I was only earning 80 cents-a-day. How could we get by on that? But God took care of us, in the same way that He took care of Elijah. He promised to be m One evening, my mother-in-law said that there was no food anymore in the house. The next morning, at five to six there was a knock on the door. 'Are you sister Alice?' asked a woman in her sixties, whom I didn’t know. 'God wanted me to give you this.' She put a package in my hand and disappeared. When I opened the parcel I found there was rice in it and some other food and a banknote to the value of about four month’s salary of a professor! Praise the Lord. Where man comes to an end, God begins! This was only one of the many miracles which kept us alive all those years.” The second trial came from the Communist party. Every day for nineteen years, I had to report to the police station, where for six hours, they put pressure on me. They said that I would never see my husband again, that I should divorce him and that I should give up my faith. With God’s help I kept going. Praying with my eyes closed, I endured the interrogations every day. The third trial consisted of the hard work. After I had been pressured by the security police for six hours, I still had to work for eight hours to earn a living. I had to push handcarts filled with building materials. The carts were much too heavy. I was completely exhausted and was already tired before I started. In the winter, it was even worse. Sometimes I had to shovel 19 www.prophezine.com cement up onto a floor above my head. The work was dirty, hard and cold, but I achieved my quota. The others were surprised and wondered where I got the energy from. The fourth trial had to do with my natural desires. I was thirty-nine-years-old when my husband was taken away. The authorities put me under pressure to marry someone else. All my papers would be changed, so that I could start a new life without all the difficulties. I was offered money and clothing. God loved me so much that He gave me the strength to resist all these temptations. When I prayed to God, He gave me everything I needed, and even more than that. My favorite text is Psalm 68:6, God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing. It is a miracle that her husband, Allen Yuan, got out of the labor camp alive. In December 1979, he was released after twenty-one years and eight months. He was then sixty-five years old, thin but still healthy. At an age when many people are enjoying retirement, Allan again took up his vocation as a pastor. He died on August 16th 2005 at the age of ninety-one. Alice joined him in heaven in early August 2010 to hear her own “Well done!” 20 www.prophezine.com Why I Enjoy "Home Church" By Belle Ringer A couple of weeks ago, Peace-Loving Warrior and I decided to "play hooky" from the church we have been attending and explore the idea of worshipping via "home church" with family and friends. It was a small group, only six of us. But it was such a liberating, educational, and inspirational experience for us Believers! PLW opened our gathering with prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to be with us and guide us in our quest for a closer relationship with God. He then led our discussion and introduced a subject that caused us to go deep into our understanding of the Bible and God's message to us. He introduced a concept that most of us were unfamiliar with ... the Paradox of Grace. The paradox comes when two truths that seem to conflict with each other, are yet inseparable. The verse that challenged our minds and our understanding was Philippians 2:1213 ... work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. The purpose of this post is not to dissect that paradox, but to share how much I enjoyed the opportunity to discuss, in-depth, the meaning of Scripture. We all had different church backgrounds, which played a part in our worship, but we all agreed on one thing ... we were seeking to know God's truth and to gain a closer relationship with Him through His Word. And that is very often difficult to do in our traditional "church" setting. I am aware that I will probably offend some of you, and I want to make clear that this is not my intent. I am only speaking for myself, and I do not demand that you agree with me. But our experience was so enlightening that I cannot keep it to myself. How can I describe what a difference it made in my soul? There was such a contrast between sitting in a pew listening to someone give a speech on the meaning of a particular Bible passage, and being part of the discussion itself; I guess you could describe it as the difference between being passive and active. There is nothing that compares to going to and fro, searching the Scriptures, for God's counsel on a subject. I want to hear what HE has to say, and then deliberate among fellow believers to get the most understanding I can. 21 www.prophezine.com I must confess that the modern Church has left me cold. For quite awhile, I have not been content to just "show up" and count that as worshipping my Lord. I am not interested in being part of a "membership". And I have grown tired of "lukewarm" messages that don't make obedience to God relevant in today's culture. We have serious issues that God tells us are wrong and offensive to Him, yet our Churches seem to want to placate everyone and tolerate society's ills. The younger generation claims that they want less glitz and glamour in the Church and more of Jesus, but their view of the politically-correct Jesus is not the Jesus I find in my Bible. And so I find that I am no longer "fed" in the concept of Church as "big", "inclusive" and "accommodating". I want to know the Jesus that walked with the Disciples. I want to clear away all the centuries of denominational doctrines and creeds, and get to know Him in a close-up and personal fashion. He doesn't require a packed house, or a church band, or the latest technology to speak to me. In fact, He said, "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." I can't tell you how many times I have sat in a crowded sanctuary and felt He was nowhere near. Home church is probably not for everyone. There are those who are more comfortable following the Leader model; but God tells us that He is available to all of us if we will just seek Him. Those who are new in their faith need discipling, but that does not exclude a home church atmosphere. The best mentors that discipled me did so in a one-on-one relationship, which is very conducive to home churches. The only disclaimer I would make is that everyone involved must commit to a Biblical interpretation of Scripture. With the Holy Spirit's guidance we all can discern God's message in the Bible. You don't need a seminary degree for that. So the result of our gathering was that our little group of six, huddled in our living room with Bibles spread before us, feasted on His Word and spent over two hours getting to know our Lord. Needless to say, we changed subjects often, and explored Scripture for answers to our questions, and our fears and doubts. We also shared the passages that illuminated the glory of God and strengthened our faith. And I couldn't help but feel that we were blessed by our convening in such a manner. After all, it is the way the Church began; and the first-Century home churches were conducted by people who had worshipped at Jesus's feet and who followed His example. I'm not advocating that our Church buildings and congregations be abandoned. There is room for both in the Kingdom of God. But if you want a sweet, intimate encounter with our Lord, invite some friends in for a "home church" experience. You will receive God's grace, favor, and abundant blessings. 1 Corinthians 16:19 "The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord." 22 www.prophezine.com Those That Are Not Preparing For The Coming Economic Depression Are Going To Bitterly Regret It By Michael Snyder The next great economic crisis is rapidly approaching, and most people are going to be totally blindsided by it. Even though the warning signs are glaringly obvious, most Americans continue to believe that our "leaders" know what they are doing and that everything will be just fine. But what will happen when the next great financial crash happens and trillions of dollars of "paper wealth" disappear into thin air? What will happen when the coming credit crunch causes economic activity to dramatically slow down and millions upon millions of people lose their jobs? This shouldn't sound far-fetched to you. Remember, this is exactly the kind of thing that we saw back in 2008, and the next great financial crisis is likely going to be significantly worse. Our economy is in far worse shape than it was back in 2008, and government dependence is now at an all-time high even though most Americans are still enjoying debt-fueled false prosperity. We are living in the largest debt bubble in the history of the planet, and when it bursts we are going to experience a crippling "adjustment" to our standard of loving. Some people understand this and are busy preparing for what is ahead. It has been estimated that there are approximately 3 million "preppers" in the United States, and that number is growing all the time. Unfortunately, most Americans are not preparing for the coming economic depression and they are going to bitterly regret it. So what does preparing for the coming economic depression look like? Well, it doesn't have to be complicated. Most of the things that you should do are just common sense. But there are some people that take things to extremes. For example, a new National Geographic series is featuring a family that is actually constructing a "Doomsday Castle". The former U.S. Army officer that is building this unusual home is trying to prepare for virtually every type of disaster that he can imagine... 23 www.prophezine.com Meet Brent Sr., the leader of the six-person family. Brent is a former Army Infantry Training Officer who is heading up the project to build an “EMP (electromagnetic pulse)proof medieval castle in the woods of the Carolinas.” According to National Geographic, Brent is teaching five of his 10 children survival skills. The unfinished, fortified castle that Brent Sr. is building — an idea he got during the Y2K prep craze — will be able to sustain an EMP-event that could wipe out a power grid, but will also survive natural disasters like hurricanes. He even plans to train his family members to use crossbows and a catapult to defend against potential home invaders. Not many people out there are going to take "prepping" to such extremes. But even if you don't plan to build a "Doomsday Castle", that doesn't mean that you should be doing nothing. Sadly, most Americans are quite ill-prepared for a major economic downturn at this point. In fact, most Americans seem to be doing almost nothing to prepare. Just consider the following statistics. Most of these numbers come from one of my previous articles... -According to a survey that was recently released, 76 percent of all Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. -46 percent of all Americans have less than $800 in savings. -27 percent of all Americans do not have even a single penny saved up. -Less than one out of every four Americans has enough money stored away to cover six months of expenses. -Each year, 12 million Americans take out high interest payday loans. -In 1989, the debt to income ratio of the average American family was about 58 percent. Today it is up to 154 percent. -It is estimated that less than 10 percent of the U.S. population owns any gold or silver for investment purposes. -44 percent of all Americans do not have first-aid kits in their homes. -48 percent of all Americans do not have any emergency supplies stored up. 24 www.prophezine.com -53 percent of all Americans do not have a 3 day supply of nonperishable food and water in their homes. -One survey asked Americans how long they thought they would survive if the electrical grid went down for an extended period of time. Incredibly, 21 percent said that they would survive for less than a week, an additional 28 percent said that they would survive for less than two weeks, and nearly 75 percent said that they would be dead before the two month mark. Those numbers are absolutely appalling. When the system fails, most people are going to be completely blindsided by it and millions upon millions of people are going to absolutely freak out. Don't let that happen to you. So what are some basic things that you can do to get prepared for the great economic storm that is coming? The following are a few of the things that Nicole Foss suggests... 1) Hold no debt (for most people this means renting) 2) Hold cash and cash equivalents (short term treasuries) under your own control 3) Don’t trust the banking system, deposit insurance or no deposit insurance 4) Sell equities, real estate, most bonds, commodities, collectibles (or short if you can afford to gamble) 5) Gain some control over the necessities of your own existence if you can afford it 6) Be prepared to work with others as that will give you far greater scope for resilience and security 7) If you have done all that and still have spare resources, consider precious metals as an insurance policy 8) Be worth more to your employer than he is paying you 9) Look after your health! I think all of those are great pieces of advice. In addition, below I have posted some of the things that I personally recommend. The following is an excerpt from one of my previous articles entitled "25 Things That You Should Do To Get Prepared For The Coming Economic Collapse"... 25 www.prophezine.com #1 An Emergency Fund Do you remember what happened when the financial system almost collapsed back in 2008? Millions of Americans suddenly lost their jobs, and because many of them were living paycheck to paycheck, many of them also got behind on their mortgages and lost their homes. You don't want to lose everything that you have worked for during this next major economic downturn. It is imperative that you have an emergency fund. It should be enough to cover all of your expenses for at least six months, but I would encourage you to have an emergency fund that is even larger than that. #2 Don't Put All Of Your Eggs Into One Basket\ If the wealth confiscation in Cyprus has taught us anything, it is that we should not put all of our eggs in one basket. If all of your money is in one single bank account, it would be easy to wipe out. But if you have your money scattered around a number of different places it will give you a little bit more security. #3 Keep Some Cash At Home This goes along with the previous point. While it is not wise to keep all of your money at home, you do want to keep some cash on hand. If there is an extended bank holiday or if a giant burst from the sun causes the ATM machines to go down, you want to be able to have enough cash to buy the things that your family needs. Just ask the people of Cyprus how crippling a bank holiday can be. One way to keep your cash secure at home is by storing it in a concealed safe. #4 Get Out Of Debt A lot of people seem to assume that an economic collapse would wipe out all debts, but that will probably not be the case. In fact, if you are in a tremendous amount of debt you will be very vulnerable if the economy collapses and you are not able to find a job. Just ask the people who were overextended and lost their jobs during the last recession. So please get out of debt. Many debt collectors are becoming increasingly ruthless. In many areas of the country they are now routinely putting debtors into prison. You do not want to be a slave to debt when the next wave of the economic collapse strikes. #5 Gold And Silver In the long-term, the U.S. dollar is going to lose a tremendous amount of value and inflation is going to absolutely skyrocket. That is one reason why so many people are investing very heavily in gold, silver and other precious metals. All over the globe, the central banks of the world are recklessly printing money. Everyone knows that this is going to end very badly. In fact, there is already a push in more than a dozen U.S. states to allow gold and silver coins to be used as legal tender. Someday you will be glad that you invested in gold and silver now while their prices were still low. #6 Reduce Your Expenses 26 www.prophezine.com A lot of people claim that they can't put any money toward prepping, but the truth is that we all have room to reduce our expenses. We all spend money on things that we do not really need. Those that are "lean and mean" will tend to do much better during the times that are coming. #7 Start A Side Business If you do not have much money, a great way to increase your income is by starting a side business. And it does not take a lot of money - there are many side businesses that you can start for next to nothing. And starting a side business will allow you to become less dependent on your job. In this economic environment, a job could disappear at literally any time. #8 Move Away From The Big Cities If Possible For many people, this is simply not possible. Many Americans are still completely and totally dependent on their jobs. But if you are able, now is a good time to move away from the big cities. When the next major economic downturn strikes, there will be rioting and a dramatic rise in crime in the major cities. If you are able to move to a more rural area you will probably be in much better shape. #9 Store Food Global food reserves have reached their lowest level in nearly 40 years. As the economy gets even worse and global weather patterns become even more unstable, the price of food will go much higher and global food supplies will become much tighter. In the long run, you will be glad for the money that you put into long-term food storage now. #10 Learn To Grow Your Own Food This is a skill that most Americans possessed in the past, but that most Americans today have forgotten. Growing your own food is a way to become more independent of the system, and it is a way to get prepared for what is ahead. #11 Nobody Can Survive Without Water Without water, you would not even make it a few days in an emergency situation. It is imperative that you have a plan to provide clean drinking water for your family when disaster strikes. #12 Have A Plan For When The Grid Goes Down What would you do if the grid went down and you suddenly did not have power for an extended period of time? Anyone that has spent more than a few hours without power knows how frustrating this can be. You need to have a plan for how you are going to provide power to your home that is independent of the power company. #13 Have Blankets And Warm Clothing On Hand 27 www.prophezine.com This is more for emergency situations or for a complete meltdown of society. During any major crisis, blankets and warm clothing are in great demand. They also could potentially make great barter items. #14 Store Personal Hygiene Supplies A lot of preppers store up huge amounts of food, but they forget all about personal hygiene supplies. During a long crisis, these are items that you would greatly miss if you do not have them stored up. These types of supplies would also be great for barter. #15 Store Medicine And Medical Supplies You will also want to store up medical supplies and any medicine that you may need. In an emergency situation, you definitely would not want to be without bandages and a first-aid kit. Over the course of a long crisis, you do not want to run out of any medicines that are critical for your health. #16 Stock Up On Vitamins A lot of preppers do not think about this either, but it is very important. These days, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get adequate nutrition from the foods that we eat. That is why it is very important to have an adequate store of vitamins and other supplements. #17 Make A List Of Other Supplies That You Will Need During any crisis, there will be a lot of other things that you will need in addition to food and water. The following are just a few basic things that it would be wise to have on hand... - an axe - a can opener - flashlights - battery-powered radio - extra batteries - lighters or matches - fire extinguisher - sewing kit - tools This list could be much, much longer, but hopefully this will get you started. 28 www.prophezine.com #18 Don't Forget The Special Needs Of Your Babies And Your Pets Young children and pets have special needs. As you store supplies, don't forget about the things that they will need as well. #19 Entertainment This may sound trivial, but the truth is that our entertainment-addicted society would become very bored and very frustrated if the grid suddenly went down for an extended period of time. Card games and other basic forms of entertainment can make enduring a crisis much easier. #20 Self-Defense In the years ahead, being able to defend your home and your family is going to become increasingly important. When the economy crashes, people are going to start to become very desperate. And desperate people do desperate things. #21 Get Your Ammunition While You Still Can Your firearms will not do you much good if you do not have ammunition for them. Already there are widespread reports of huge ammunition shortages. The following is from a recent CNS News article... "The run on ammunition has manufacturers scrambling to accommodate demand and reassure customers, as many new and seasoned gun owners stock up over fears of new firearms regulations at both the state and federal levels." Don't just assume that you will always be able to purchase large amounts of ammunition whenever you want. Get it now while you still can. #22 If You Have To Go... Have a plan for what you and your family will do if you are forced to leave your home. If you do have to go, the following are some items that you will want to have on hand... - a map of the area - a compass - backpacks for every member of the family - sleeping bags - warm clothing - comfortable shoes or hiking boots #23 Community 29 www.prophezine.com One of the most important assets in any crisis situation is community. If you have friends or neighbors that you can depend upon, that is invaluable. The time spent building those bonds now will pay off greatly during a major crisis. #24 Have A Back-Up Plan And Be Flexible Mike Tyson once said the following... "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." No plan ever unfolds perfectly. When your plan is disrupted, what will you do? It will be imperative for all of us to have a back-up plan and to be flexible during the years ahead. #25 Keep Your Prepping To Yourself Do not go around and tell everyone in the area where you live about your prepping. If you do, then you may find yourself overwhelmed with "visitors" when everything falls apart. And please do not go on television and brag about your prepping to a national audience. Prepping is something that you want to keep to yourself, unless you want hordes of desperate people banging on your door in the future. 30 www.prophezine.com