The United States is at a crossroads of decision… and we need to repent, lest this happens to us!

God’s message to the King of Babylon was:

“MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PHARSIN“…

And this is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; TEKEK: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”Who was King Nebuchadnezzar and what was his kingdom like?

Note this is a completely secularized view of history, but interesting all the same:

WARNING… will this also be America’s future? I believe it will be if Christians aren’t praying.
Despite the warnings in his prophecies, Jeremiah had to witness the fall of his beloved Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar’s troops set the city on fire. Zedekiah was left blinded and his sons dead. Zedekiah was also the last king of Judah; and Israel on that day ceased to be a sovereign power, and it remained that way until April 14th, 1948.
Here’s their History:
In Jeremiah 51, the prophet received a revelation from the LORD that ancient Babylon was going to fall. Look at what he said. “And Babylon? …I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD,” (verses 37,39).

“And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts,” (verse 57).

God promised that in the fall of ancient Babylon, He would actually “MAKE THEM DRUNKEN, that they may rejoice and sleep a perpetual sleep.” In their stupor, God sent in enemies who destroyed them.

The same vow will determine the destiny of modern Babylon – the world-wide kingdom of man.

When Ancient Babylon fell, they were drunk!

Do you remember the downfall of ancient Babylon? It happened during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar’s descendant, Belshazzar, in Daniel 5:27.

“Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.

Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.

Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.

They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote,” (Daniel 5:1-5).

The story is infamous.

Daniel interpreted the mysterious handwriting on the wall.

“You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting. Tonight your kingdom will be divided and taken from you.”

It was a message of doom from God to Belshazzar.

BELSHAZZAR and all the Babylonian dignitaries WERE DRUNK WHEN GOD’S JUDGMENT FELL ON BABYLON.

That night, the Medo-Persians conquered them. King Belshazzar was killed. The ancient Babylonian empire fell into the hands of its enemies while it was drunk.

When judgment comes to modern Babylon, it will also be drunk!

The 18th Chapter of Revelation describes the fall of modern Babylon.

Let me interrupt this thought to explain to you the correlation between ancient Babylon and modern Babylon.

There are actually FOUR Biblical definitions of Babylon.

Four Definitions of Babylon

1. The ancient CITY of Babylon. It is the ancient site of Nebuchadnezzar’s “Hanging Gardens,” the Gate of Ishtar, and was once known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is also the site of the ancient Tower of Babel.

2. The ancient EMPIRE of Babylon (made famous in Nebuchadnezzar’s day). That empire stretched across the Middle East, north, south, east and west. It was the largest empire in the world in its time.

3. Modern Political Babylon – the descendant of ancient Babylon – generally speaking, this refers to the kingdom of man (as opposed to the Kingdom of God by Jesus Christ). The Babylonian system is obsessed with global domination, both physically, financially and SPIRITUALLY!

People think of the United Nations as Babylon, or the New World Order as Babylon, or some refer to New York or America as Babylon, but that is really inaccurate.

4. Mystery Babylon – the spiritual roots of Babylon, from the days of the Tower of Babel, includes an encyclopedia of pagan religious beliefs and practices that were handed down through the centuries. They were all born in hell, springing originally from Lucifer himself. They are evil and abominable in the eyes of God.

[I would add that I think the end of days destruction of Babylon will be the literal nation, which is now Iraq; but also the symbolic counterpart which are all those nations who have forsaken the God of the Bible, and have made themselves drunk with deceitful riches]

God judged the builders of the ancient Tower of Babel

He came down and confused their tongues, so that they “left off” finishing the tower. But the evil intentions that were present at ancient Babel have never died.

Babylon rebounded and became a virtual global empire in the days of King Solomon of Israel.

In sad fact, Solomon corrupted Jewish religion in the days of his backsliding by introducing the Babylonian mysteries into his religious beliefs and practices. Collaborating with Hiram, King of Lebanon, Solomon began to concoct a mystical, esoteric religion that eventually corrupted the priests and subsequent kings of Israel.

In Solomon’s day, God’s anger began to boil against Babylon, and that is very likely a primary reason why God finally turned over the backsliding nation of Israel TO Babylon when He did!

Because they demonstrated their desire to know the Babylonian mysteries instead of the truth of God’s Word, God gave them over to Babylonian masters.

Over a period of more than 2,500 years, Jewish rabbis and scholars have shown their preference to the Babylon-inspired Cabbalistic mysteries over the PURE unadulterated word of God.

Caballism (Mysticism) made its way not only into the Jewish religious hierarchy, but eventually into a wide array of secret societies, and eventually taken up by kings and princes and power brokers throughout world history.

The Middle Ages were rife with Luciferic secret societies, and the history of Europe is filled with the shenanigans of Popes and Kings and their dealings with these secret societies.

Ultimately, the Catholic church was infiltrated and controlled by that lot who now engage in global political and financial intrigue through the auspices of this so-called, albeit false “church.”

The modern international banking system was created by Caballists such as Lord Rothschild, and powerful global secret orders were created by Caballists like Albert Pike, Madam Blavansky and others, and to this day, the New World Order is run in large part by Caballists.

The Jewish Talmud (oral traditions) and the Caballah each tragically contain pernicious Babylonian corruptions.

The spiritual abominations of ancient Babylon continue to thrive in the esoteric (secret) mysteries of the Roman Catholic Church, Freemasonry, and the Caballah. Believe it or not, they are all intricately and heavily intertwined.

One of the principal reasons God says He will JUDGE Mystery Babylon is because, throughout history, it made the KINGS AND NATIONS of the earth DRUNKEN! God hates these diabolical mystical, power-mongering schemes.

“For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies,” (Revelation 18:3).

In order to understand why God hates Mystery Babylon, you have to contrast it with His divine plan for the ages.

God will have an eternal kingdom, ruled by Him.

Mystery Babylon would have a kingdom ruled by Lucifer.

Believe it or not, the mystery religions I am refering to very explicitly declare that Lucifer should rule the world.

This includes the behind-the- scenes powers-that-be in the RCC, the Jesuits, the Knights Templar, Freemasons, the Illuminati and so many other of its sister mystical societies. History is jam-packed with stories of the collaberations between most of the Babylonian mystical societies and the Roman Catholic Church.

This diabolical, Luciferic, esoteric, mystical religion, allied with the Roman Catholic Church, has been fornicating with the secular governments of the world for almost 1700 years.

Today Europe is controlled by a powerful cabal of men who are deeply rooted in the Luciferic mysteries.

Many of them are power brokers in the Roman Catholic Church. If you take the time to study all the powerful men in global politics today, you will be shocked out of your mind at how many of them have Roman Catholic connections.

The Coming Modern Fall of Babylon

Ironically, while the Roman Catholic Church has always contained a strong element of Babylonian mysteries at its core, it has distanced itself from geographical Babylon.

Islam, on the other hand, has struggled to control geographical Babylon while preaching a murderously anti-Catholic rhetoric.

Now, in the end of the age, Mystery Babylon, Political Babylon, and Geographical Babylon are set to collide in a major, major volcanic eruption. Nothing less than a total melt-down is going to occur.

Mystery Babylon, as defined above (RCC, Freemasonry, Caballah) is now pervading the globe in various other forms: the New Age movement, the Green Movement, but especially global ecumenical religious initiatives such as the World Council of Churches, the United Religions Organization, even the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Why Babylon is such a major topic in the Bible

Israel’s trouble with Babylon began in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah. The Babylonian King in those days was named Berodachbaladan. During a time of Hezekiah’s sickness, King Berodachbaladan sent letters and gifts to him, so Hezekiah invited a Babylonian entourage to tour the Jewish Palace and Temple, showing them all of Israel’s precious treasures.

Isaiah prophesied to Hezekiah that Babylonians would soon carry away everything of value to Babylon, and would take Hezekiah’s descendants as servants to their king. That happened soon thereafter.

Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, laid siege against Jerusalem, and took the Jews captive back to Babylon. Eventually, all the precious furnishings of the Temple were stolen and taken to Babylon.

God brought Babylon into His grand scheme to judge the Nation of Israel for their sins and backslidings.

God used the Kings of Babylon to execute His punishments upon Israel for their idolatries and abomination they had committed against God.

God sentenced the Israelites to become captives in Babylon for seventy years. Afterward, He promised to deliver them, and punish Babylon with “perpetual desolations.”

“And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations,”
(Jeremiah 25:12).

~by Ken Raggio

What God said to His covenant children Israel, I believe also applies to His Covenant children here in America, for our forefather’s also formed a covenant with God; and so let us pay heed to God’s warning to Israel: “Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 8:19-20)

As I’ve said before, truly I believe our only hope for America is Jesus Christ; and David Wilkerson has an important message on the importance of our praying and interceding in his devotional message (below), that I think you will want to read.

It is all apparent from history and the Bible that Satan is very religious, and in the same way he corrupted ancient man’s view of God, and then infiltrated sectors of the Jewish faith, he has also sought to corrupt the Christian faith as well.

Whereas the scenarios that are being described above are a fact of history; this author takes the interpretation that supports the European Union as the source of the Antichrist Kingdom.

I would beg to differ with that interpretation, as I believe it will be an Islamic kingdom, and I believe also that the seat of its power, which will ultimately reside in the Antichrist, will be the literal nation of Iraq, which I believe will soon be a resurrected Babylon; and the seat of all world commerce.

All the occult ties however, that the author mentions that exists between the Globalist Rothschild’s International Banking Oligarchy and the Luciferian Antichrist Kingdom are very real; and it is this force that has so corrupted our politics and our culture here in the United States, and also the entire Western world.

It is also these same “Secret Societies,” which the author makes reference to, who are so pronounced today and in the past, who are the seed bed of Satan’s power to undermine and corrupt both our government and our culture.

And I’m talking about such organizations, which we all have heard of, some of whom have in fact been elevated to positions of prominence and power today, and all of which are dedicated to the establishment of a “New World Order.”

These secret societies are all front organizations for this evil cabal, who seek world domination, and they include organizations such as: the Freemasons, the Bilderberg Group, the Bohemian Club, The Counsel on Foreign Relations (CFR), the Trilateral Commission, and the Skull and Bones fraternity, at Yale University, which by the way three generations of the Bush family hale from.


Where the United States falls in all of this, as I’ve said before, I don’t think is set in stone. The Bible tells us that there will be both “Sheep Nations,” and “Goat Nations” when Christ returns… and it is my prayer that the United States will survive as a “Sheep Nation,” that is loyal to God, and not on the side of this diabolical and evil Antichrist spirit; as our current government is today trying so hard to push us towards.

That is why we have to pray for our country, because the outcome of where we will be, I believe will depend on the prayers of the saints!

Shalom,

Skip Barland


—–Original Message—–
From: DAVID WILKERSON TODAY
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 1:35 PM
To: devotions-en@lists.worldchallenge.org
Subject: BECOMING PEOPLE OF PRAYER

BECOMING PEOPLE OF PRAYER
by David Wilkerson | July 6, 2010

In Jeremiah 5, God pleaded, “Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem…seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it” (Jeremiah 5:1). The Lord was saying, in essence, “I’ll be merciful, if I can find just one person who’ll seek me.”

During the Babylonian captivity, God found such a man in Daniel. And today, more than ever in history, the Lord is searching for the same kind of godly men and women. He seeks faithful servants who are willing to “make up the hedge” and “stand in the gap,” works that can only be accomplished through prayer.

Like Daniel, such a person will be found with God’s Word in his hand. When the Holy Ghost came to Daniel, the prophet was reading the book of Jeremiah. It was then that the Spirit revealed that God’s time of deliverance had come for Israel. As the revelation came, Daniel was provoked to pray: “I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: and I prayed unto the Lord my God” (Daniel 9:3–4).

Daniel knew God’s people weren’t ready to receive his restoration. Yet, did the prophet lambaste his peers for their sins? No—Daniel identified himself with the moral decay all around him. He declared, “We have sinned…to us belongeth confusion of face…because we have sinned against thee” (Daniel 9:5, 8).

God strongly desires to bless his people today—but if our minds are polluted with the spirit of this world, we are in no position to receive his blessings. Daniel made this powerful statement: “All this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand the truth. Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us” (Daniel 9:13–14).

Would to God we would examine our own walk with the Lord and let the Holy Spirit show us areas of compromise.

We would do more than pray for a backsliding nation. We would be crying out, “Oh, Lord, search my heart. Expose in me all of the spirit of the world that has crept into my soul.” Like Daniel, we could then set our faces to pray for the deliverance of our families—our nation.

http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/devotions/2010/becoming-people-of-prayer

Obama verses General Stanley McChrystal…

Now really…. Which one of these two men do you trust?

Our nation in Crisis, and here is just one of many reasons why…

Barack Obama versus Gen. Stanley McChrystal

Let’s look at a few facts:

  1. Consider for a moment that Obama from all evidence lied his way into the White House; and has lied his whole political career;
  2. Obama has failed to prove his citizenship and place of birth, and therefore is constitutionally unqualified to be President of the United States;
  3. Obama has and is betraying his oath of office, to preserve, protect and to defend our U.S. Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic; and by doing so he has also betrayed the American people; whereas Gen. McChrystal has spent a career serving his country and has defended it against our enemies.

Remember the part I said about violating our Constitution?

Now let’s compare their two Biographies:
General McChrystal Biography

Commander, International Security Assistance Force/
Commander, United States Forces Afghanistan
United States Army

SOURCE OF COMMISSIONED SERVICE: USMA EDUCATIONAL DEGREES
United States Military Academy – BS – No Major
United States Naval War College – MA – National Security and Strategic Studies
Salve Regina University – MS – International Relations

MILITARY SCHOOLS ATTENDED:
Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses
United States Naval Command and Staff College
Senior Service College Fellowship Harvard University

FOREIGN LANGUAGES:
Spanish

PROMOTIONS DATE OF APPOINTMENT:
2LT 2 Jun 76
1LT 2 Jun 78
CPT 1 Aug 80
MAJ 1 Jul 87
LTC 1 Sep 92
COL 1 Sep 96
BG 1 Jan 01
MG 1 May 04
LTG 16 Feb 06
GEN 11 Jun 09

FROM TO ASSIGNMENT:
Nov 76 Feb 78 Weapons Platoon Leader, C Company, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Feb 78 Jul 78 Rifle Platoon Leader, C Company, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Jul 78 Nov 78 Executive Officer, C Company, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Nov 78 Apr 79 Student, Special Forces Officer Course, Special Forces School, Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Apr 79 Jun 80 Commander, Detachment A, A Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Jun 80 Feb 81 Student, Infantry Officer Advanced Course, United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia
Feb 81 Mar 82 S2/S3 (Intelligence/Operations), United Nations Command Support Group Joint Security Area, Korea
Mar 82 Nov 82 Training Officer, Directorate of Plans and Training, A Company, Headquarters Command, Fort Stewart, Georgia

Nov 82 Sep 84 Commander, A Company, 3d Battalion, 19th Infantry, 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Georgia

Sep 84 Sep 85 S3 (Operations), 3d Battalion, 19th Infantry, 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Georgia
Sep 85 Jan 86 Liaison Officer, 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia
Jan 86 May 87 Commander, A Company, 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia
May 87 Apr 88 Liaison Officer, 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia
Apr 88 Jun 89 S3 (Operations), 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia
Jun 89 Jun 90 Student, Command and Staff Course, United States Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island
Jun 90 Apr 93 Army Special Operations Action Officer, J3, Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina and OPERATIONS DESERT SHIELD/STORM, Saudi Arabia

Apr 93 Nov 94 Commander, 2d Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Nov 94 Jun 96 Commander, 2d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Lewis, Washington
Jun 96 Jun 97 Senior Service College Fellowship, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Jun 97 Aug 99 Commander, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia
Aug 99 Jun 00 Military Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, New York, New York
Jun 00 Jun 01 Assistant Division Commander (Operations), 82d Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina to include duty as Commander, Combined Joint Task Force Kuwait, Camp Doha, Kuwait

Jun 01 Jul 02 Chief of Staff, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, Fort Bragg, North Carolina to include duty as Chief of Staff, Combined Joint Task Force180, OPERATION ENDURING

FREEDOM, Afghanistan
Jul 02 Sep 03 Vice Director for Operations, J3, The Joint Staff, Washington, DC
Sep 03 Feb 06 Commanding General, Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Feb 06 Jun 08 Commander, Joint Special Operations Command/Commander, Joint Special Operations Command Forward, United States Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Aug 08 Jun 09 Director, The Joint Staff, Washington, DC
Jun 09 Present Commander, International Security Assistance Force/Commander, United States Forces Afghanistan, OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, Afghanistan

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS:
S2/S3 (Intelligence/Operations), United Nations Command Support Group Joint Security Area, Korea (Feb 81-Mar 82, Captain)

Army Special Operations Action Officer, J3, Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina and OPERATIONS DESERT SHIELD/STORM, Saudi Arabia Jun 90-Apr 93 Major/Lieutenant Colonel)

Chief of Staff, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, Fort Bragg, North Carolina to include duty as Chief of Staff, Combined Joint Task Force180, OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, Afghanistan (Jun 01-Jul 02, Brigadier General)

Vice Director for Operations, J3, The Joint Staff, Washington, DC (Jul 02-Sep 03, Brigadier General)
Commanding General, Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina (Sep 03-Feb 06, Brigadier General/Major General)

Commander, Joint Special Operations Command/Commander, Joint Special Operations
Command Forward, United States Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina (Feb 06-Jun 08, Major General/Lieutenant General)

Director, The Joint Staff, Washington, DC (Aug 08-Jun 09, Lieutenant General)
Commander, International Security Assistance Force/Commander, United States Forces Afghanistan, OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, Afghanistan (Jun 09-Present, General)

SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS ASSIGNMENTS DATE GRADE
Army Special Operations Action Officer, J3, Joint Special Operations Command, OPERATIONS DESERT SHIELD/STORM, Saudi Arabia (Jun 90-Mar 91, Major)

Commander, Combined Joint Task Force Kuwait, Camp Doha, Kuwait (Apr 01-Jun 01, Brigadier General)
Chief of Staff, Combined Joint Task Force180, OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, Afghanistan (May 02-Jul 02, Brigadier General)

Commander, International Security Assistance Force/Commander, United States Forces Afghanistan, OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, Afghanistan (Jun 09- Present, General)

US DECORATIONS AND BADGES:
Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster)
Legion of Merit (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters)
Bronze Star Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters)
Army Commendation Medal
Army Achievement Medal
Expert Infantryman Badge
Master Parachutist Badge
Ranger Tab
Special Forces Tab
Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge

_________________________________________________________________

Obama Biography:

Birthplace:  Location remains questionable.  Proof of United States Citizenship hasn’t been provided.
Education:  Columbia University, Harvard Law School.  Records never produced, attendance remains questionable.
Military Career:  None
Business Career:  None
Political Career:  Community organizer, Chicago, 1983-86; civil rights attorney, Chicago, 1991-96;
University of Chicago, lecturer, early 1990s-2004; Illinois State Senator, 1996-2005; U.S. Senator, 2005-2008; President 2008-.

____________________________________________________________________

Draw your own conclusions….

The Destruction of Pompeii… a lesson in History!

On August 23, 79 AD, Pompeii looked like any other busy, prosperous city…

People were moving about, trading goods, news, and friendly talk. Three days later, on August 26, all of these sounds had fallen silent, and the place itself had vanished. Almost nothing was seen of Pompeii for more than 1500 years. Now, more than 1900 years later, we are learning more and more about the last days of Pompeii. What happened to Pompeii preserved a treasury of information about life in the ancient Roman Empire.

The Destruction of Pompeii (1 of 6)

(click here to watch pt 2 , pt 3, pt 4, pt 5, pt 6)

POMPEII
A Christian Perspective

Copyright © 2001
Michael S. Cole, M.D.

It is my opinion that Pompeii is the most important archeological site anywhere. Almost every other ancient urban site is simply the remains of a ghost town, long ago deserted by its citizens who carried away with them everything of value. Prior to the eruption of Vesuvius, Pompeii was a thriving city. Then it was buried with so little warning in 79 A.D. that Pompeii was literally frozen in time.

If we want to know details about what life was like in a Roman city during the first century, I think by studying Pompeii we can get the very best perspective with the least speculation. We can understand how the privileged rich man and the ordinary slave lived from day to day in the Roman Empire during the time when

Christianity was beginning to spread throughout the Mediterranean. A better understanding of life in Pompeii, a city with both Roman and Greek influence, can help us to better understand many of the writings of the New Testament.

Thanks to the United States Navy, I was stationed near Pompeii in the mid-1980’s. My wife Jeannie and I visited the ruins of that ancient city many times. Our first tour was conducted by Tony d’Ambrosio, then a professor of archeology at the University of Naples, now the director of excavation at Pompei. After studying everything I could find about Pompeii, I served as an amateur guide for many friends and relatives.

The slide show and commentary provided here will give you a glimpse of what you would see and learn if I could personally escort you around the streets, villas, temples, theaters, baths, shops, and forum of Pompeii. As a bonus, I’ve also included photos of many items from the National Archeological Museum of Naples where most of the treasures of Pompeii are housed. If you’re interested, you should check out some of the many books and Web sites from which you can learn lots more than I’ll be sharing with you here.

If you’re planning to visit Pompeii, perhaps this virtual tour will help prepare you for what you will experience there. If you’ve already been to Pompeii, maybe you’ll learn something new from my perspectives. If you’re likely to never make it to see Pompeii for yourself, I truly hope your time spent at this Web site will educate, enlighten, and inspire you.

Click here to take a virtual tour of the city


There is also an interesting devotional message from Worthy Ministries below on the subject of Pompeii, that I think you will enjoy reading.

There is a lot, I believe, for us to learn about this ancient city of Pompeii and its people. Even as the devotional message (below) points out, in how there was a woman, who along with everyone else was frozen in time by the burning magma flood that consumed their lives; in how this one woman was found clutching her jewels and was trying to take them with her.

You know there is much talk today about how the United States, having so far failed to learned from history, is on the verge of repeating it; and along with this analogy the comparison is often made comparing us with the ancient Roman Empire; which as we understand from history did not topple due to any opposing armies from without; but it toppled from within, due the internal greed and corruption of its leadership, and the overall lasciviousness, debauchery, and sin of its people… in a nation who had forsaken the Lord God of Creation.

What history doesn’t record is the longsuffering of a loving God, whom I am sure made every effort to sway the citizens of this ancient Roman city from their ways, and all apparently to no avail.

Listen to what God says in the Book of Romans about such a people:

Romans 1:8-32

8 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.


24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen

26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.


28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality,[c] wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving,[d] unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

What I do know, however, is all that the Lord is doing here in the United States today, in order to try and get our attention; but I wager you that much the same attitude that was seen in the days of Noah, and also I believe this was true of Ancient Rome as well, where the Bible records that in spite of Noah’s warnings (as the Bible says he preached for 100 years) of a coming and impending disaster, that in spite of these warnings the people carried on business as usual, and were much too busy buying and selling and giving in marriage, and all the normal every day affairs of their lives, to give God any consideration. And that was a BIG mistake, as it is also for us today!!!

And by the way, Jesus warns us that as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be when He returns.

I can only hope and pray that same history is not repeated here in America; but I can also see that our time is running short; and such as it is, there are signs a plenty all around us, in both nature and in the sad state of our economy; not to mention the state of our crumbling, corrupt, and ill managed government, which we have today, which I am sure is not that different from the Roman government of ancient history.

God’s instructions for a people who are faced with God’s judgment, as we are today in America, is very clear. In that the responsibility for our government, and God’s impending judgment upon it, does not fall to the unbelievers, the atheists, and agnostics, who are in virtual control today of every level of our society, our media, our government and our culture; but the Bible makes it very clear that the responsibility of whether our nation is turned back to God, or whether we are judged, falls to the believers, the Christians… of those who are called by God’s name!

Read it for yourself in 2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Let us here in America follow the instructions given us in our Operations Manual (the Bible), and let us continue to watch and pray, and let us also be about our Father’s business too, which is to be a witness to this lost world, in all those souls who are all around us, who don’t yet have a clue what future awaits them if they turn away from and forsake the Lord their God, and turn away from the Saviour of the World, Jesus Christ! Selah

Shalom,

Skip Barland


From: Worthy Ministries
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 2:30 AM
To: skip810usa@yahoo.com
Subject: Worthy Brief – 7/6/2010

The volcano waiting to erupt!

1 Timothy 6:6-10 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.


As I write, it seems the prevailing concern among people everywhere is — what’s going on with the economy?
People are watching their wealth dissipating and dwindling away.
Reflecting on these material losses reminds me of a story about a lady who perished in Pompeii in the first century.

Pompeii was a flourishing city in Southern Italy until 79 AD.

Suddenly, for two days Mt. Vesuvius erupted and completely destroyed Pompeii in all its pomp.

The city was covered in meters of ash and pumice for 1700 years until it was accidentally discovered in 1748.

When archaeologists began excavations in 1910 they uncovered a petrified woman clutching some of the finest jewelry ever recovered from the ancient world.

She was apparently attempting to flee the doomed city, and in her haste, holding desperately onto her valuable possessions — she lost her life.

During its time Pompeii was a magnificent city, yet it’s destiny was destruction by a nearby volcano –- and so it is with our world today.

There’s so much beauty on our planet earth –- yet its destiny is certain!

The day is soon coming when it’s elements will be destroyed with fire, the earth and everything in it, laid bare, [2 Peter 3:10] –- and our earthly possessions will not come with us into glory, (only what we have done with them).

As the Apostle Paul said, we came into this world with nothing — and when we leave this world, we take nothing with us.

We can make the mistake of holding too dearly onto our earthly possessions, making them our “treasure”, (rather than storing treasure where moth and rust do not corrode etc.) — but this is a costly error, as illustrated by our “petrified lady.”

Instead, let’s remind ourselves that we are stewards of God’s possessions, responsible to use them with His interests in mind, to further His Kingdom with the things He has entrusted to us.

With so much work to be done, let’s never allow our earthly possessions to petrify us with greed or fear thus preventing the eternal work we were preordained for, and stealing our eternal rewards.

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah

Negev Desert, Israel
http://www.worthynetwork.com/
Please consider supporting Worthy Network with a gift! You can give online. Or you can send your gifts to: Worthy Network, P.O. Box 43, Telford, PA 18969-2184

GOD WILL MAKE A WAY… See the Lord raise a baby girl out of a coma on live camera!!!

“All things are possible, if you can believe!!!”

How can you not love a God like this?

Rest assured that God will also make a way for you too…


The Miracle Baby at River Church in Durham, NC
by Jonathan Daoana (videos) – 9:57

This is the story of an 8-month old baby who has been in COMA since she was 2 months. It was caused by a violent shaking of the baby by her babysitter.

Against doctors’ orders her mom took her out of the hospital just to bring her to church on a December day even only for a few hours.

All that her mom had was faith. All the people had to do was believe. All that the baby had to do was be healed.

Watch it and see what God can do even FOR YOU.

~ Jonathan Jay Daoana (Masters Commission GCF Dagupan)

Our God is a God of miracles, and yet how many of His children doubt and are in unbelief.

One of the major signs that the Apostle Paul said would be common in the Last Days, before Jesus returns to earth, he said that “Many would have a form of religion and would acknowledge a belief in God, but would nevertheless deny the power!“
(see 2 Timothy 3:5)

Times have not changed very much from the days of Christ, where it says that Jesus went unto His own hometown and there He couldn’t do very much in the way of miracles, except that he healed a few sick folks… and why? The Bible says it was because of their unbelief!

Now if the Living Son of God, who is Himself God incarnate (in the flesh) cannot overcome unbelief in His people, I’m sure also that we can’t either.

Folks, it is never a matter that God doesn’t want to perform miracles in our life, for truly what we call the “Supernatural” is very natural and ordinary for God; and it should also be for us.

What we need to do is start acting like we believe the Promises of God’s Word, and start confessing them with our mouth, and finally begin to thank God for answered prayer before there is any tangible evidence of it… all of this is what the Bible instructs us to do, by the way.

It isn’t necessary that we believe in our mind, or our intellect… only in our heart (our spirit man)… as the Bible says: “Believe with your heart and confess with your mouth, and you shall be saved!“ Selah

So whatever needs you are facing today, and I don’t care what it is, if you can find a promise in God’s Word addressing your need, then you can know it’s God’s will for you to have your miracle… and in Jesus Name, believe for your miracle! Selah and Amen

Shalom,

Skip Barland


PROTECTING OUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS… it’s about protecting your families!!!


Gun control is not about guns; it’s about control!

PEOPLE ASK  WHY?
Why carry a gun?

My old grandpa said to me “Son, there comes a time in every man’s life when he stops bustin’ knuckles and starts bustin’ caps and usually it’s when he becomes too old to take an ass whoopin’.”

  • I don’t carry a gun to kill people.
    I carry a gun to keep from being killed.
  • I don’t carry a gun to scare people.
    I carry a gun because sometimes this world can be a scary place.
  • I don’t carry a gun because I’m paranoid.
    I carry a gun because there are real threats in the world.
  • I don’t carry a gun because I’m evil.
    I carry a gun  because I have lived long enough to see the evil in the world.
  • I don’t carry a gun because I hate the government.
    I carry a gun because I understand the limitations of government.
  • I don’t carry a gun because I’m angry.
    I carry a gun so that I don’t have to spend the rest of my life hating myself for failing to be prepared.
  • I don’t carry a gun because I want to shoot someone.
    I carry a gun because I want to die at a ripe old age in my bed, and not on a sidewalk somewhere tomorrow afternoon.
  • I don’t carry a gun because I’m a cowboy.
    I carry a gun because, when I die and go to Heaven, I want to be a cowboy.
  • I don’t carry a gun to make me feel like a man.
    I carry a gun because men know how to take care of themselves and the ones they love.
  • I don’t carry a gun because I feel inadequate.
    I carry a gun because unarmed and facing three armed thugs, I am inadequate.
  • I don’t carry a gun because I love it.
    I carry a gun because I love life and the people who make it meaningful to me.

Police protection is an oxymoron. Free citizens must protect themselves. Police do not protect you from crime; they usually just investigate the crime after it happens and then call someone in to clean up the mess.

Personally, I carry a gun because I’m too young to die and too old to take an ass whoopin’.

— author unknown (but obviously brilliant)


A LITTLE GUN HISTORY

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
——————————
In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
——————————
Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.
——————————
China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated. (There were several types of exterminations during the early Communist years under Mao.)
——————————
Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
——————————
Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
——————————
Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
—————————–
Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control:  56 million.
——————————

Early 2000s:  England & Australia got gun control, causing crime to soar, especially against senior citizens.

——————————-

You won’t see this data on the US evening news, or hear politicians disseminating this information.

Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens.

Take note my fellow Americans, before it’s too late!

The next time someone talks in favor of gun control, please remind them of this history lesson.

With guns, we are “citizens”.  Without them, we are “subjects”.

During WWII the Japanese decided not to invade America because they knew most Americans were ARMED!

If you value your freedom, please spread this anti gun-control message to all of your friends.

The purpose of fighting is to win.
There is no possible victory in defense.
The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either.
The final weapon is the brain.
All else is supplemental.

SWITZERLAND ISSUES EVERY HOUSEHOLD A GUN!
SWITZERLAND’S GOVERNMENT TRAINS EVERY ADULT THEY ISSUE A RIFLE.  (They have a militia, rather than a standing army.)
SWITZERLAND HAS THE LOWEST GUN RELATED CRIME RATE OF ANY CIVILIZED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!!

IT’S A NO-BRAINER!
DON’T LET OUR GOVERNMENT WASTE MILLIONS OF OUR TAX DOLLARS IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE ALL LAW ABIDING CITIZENS AN EASY TARGET.

I’m a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment!
If you are too, please forward.


My thanks to John today, for forwarding me the above letter from the anonymous grandpa.

I think if there is any one major sign that our liberty and our society and freedom in general, as a people (as we have come to enjoy it), are at serious risk today, it is how nobody any longer is responsible for themselves, and how people are always looking to others to be responsible for them.

That was most certainly not the mindset of our founding fathers; and that my friend is also a sure sign of a nation that is about to be taken over by their government!

We live in a very violent and dangerous world today, and it’s getting worse by the minute, in case you haven’t noticed; and haven’t been watching the evening news!

The people who have this idea that the way to defend our country is to lay down our arms, so that our enemy’s won’t feel threaten by us, are not only naive, but they are very stupid… and some of these people are leading our government today!

It is not guns that are evil, it is the people who sometimes use them; and it makes about as much sense to say let’s eliminate the public’s access to guns in order to control crime… thereby leaving only the criminal element armed and leaving us citizens defenseless… as it does to say let’s make cars illegal as a means to eliminate all the many deaths each year that are caused by drunk drivers… what does the one have to do with the other?

This whole issue about gun control is about BIG government controlling us; and as the woman in the video pointed out, our forefathers gave us the Second Amendment to protect us from people in Government who would take our liberty from us!

I pray that the people in our nation wake up and see what’s going on; and also that we as a people will once again begin to take on and find some of that courage and pioneer spirit, that caused our forefathers to take risks, and brave the wilderness, and forage a way for themselves and their families, to find a better life; and who also fought a Revolutionary war against Mother England, and were forced to fight for what they believed in. This freedom and this liberty that so many today take for granted, did not come without a cost!

And lastly, but certainly the most important of all… I pray that our nation will once again become ONE NATION UNDER GOD; or as Ronald Reagan once said, “Or we will surely become one nation that has gone under!”

May God Bless America… and may Christians continue to watch and pray for our fair country… in Jesus name. Amen

Shalom,

Skip Barland


Another American Hero… Desmond T. Doss (Conscientious Objector—Medal of Honor Winner)…

Corporal Desmond T. Doss

Medal of Honor Winner

(February 7, 1919–March 23, 2006)




The President of the United States
in the name of The Congress
takes pleasure in presenting the
Medal of Honor
to

Desmond T. Doss
Rank and organization:
Private First Class, U.S. Army, Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division.

Place and date: Near Urasoe Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 29 April-21 May 1945.

Entered service at:
Lynchburg, Va.

Birth:
Lynchburg, Va.

G.O. No.: 97, 1 November 1945.

Citation:
He was a company aid man when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet high.

As our troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar and machinegun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back.

Pfc. Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying them 1 by 1 to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands.

On 2 May, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards forward of the lines on the same escarpment; and 2 days later he treated 4 men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within 8 yards of enemy forces in a cave’s mouth, where he dressed his comrades’ wounds before making 4 separate trips under fire to evacuate them to safety.

On 5 May, he unhesitatingly braved enemy shelling and small arms fire to assist an artillery officer. He applied bandages, moved his patient to a spot that offered protection from small arms fire and, while artillery and mortar shells fell close by, painstakingly administered plasma.

Later that day, when an American was severely wounded by fire from a cave, Pfc. Doss crawled to him where he had fallen 25 feet from the enemy position, rendered aid, and carried him 100 yards to safety while continually exposed to enemy fire.

On 21 May, in a night attack on high ground near Shuri, he remained in exposed territory while the rest of his company took cover, fearlessly risking the chance that he would be mistaken for an infiltrating Japanese and giving aid to the injured until he was himself seriously wounded in the legs by the explosion of a grenade.

Rather than call another aid man from cover, he cared for his own injuries and waited 5 hours before litter bearers reached him and started carrying him to cover.

The trio was caught in an enemy tank attack and Pfc. Doss, seeing a more critically wounded man nearby, crawled off the litter; and directed the bearers to give their first attention to the other man. Awaiting the litter bearers’ return, he was again struck, this time suffering a compound fracture of 1 arm. With magnificent fortitude he bound a rifle stock to his shattered arm as a splint and then crawled 300 yards over rough terrain to the aid station.

Through his outstanding bravery and unflinching determination in the face of desperately dangerous conditions Pfc. Doss saved the lives of many soldiers. His name became a symbol throughout the 77th Infantry Division for outstanding gallantry far above and beyond the call of duty.

I just watch this documentary on Desmond Doss last night, and what an awesome testimony of courage that was inspired by this man’s faith in God. Corporal Doss was a medic during WW II, who because of his religious beliefs, as a Seventh Day Adventist, he wouldn’t carry a gun.

He went through such persecution and out and out hatred and prejudice from officers and fellow enlisted personal alike, and boy did he show them all.

Not only that, but one of his chief critics, an officer, whom I believe is Captain Glover, whose voice you hear in the second video clip; he actually tried to get Doss drummed out of the service, and didn’t even want him in to serve in his unit; and as God would have it, Pvt. Doss eventually ended up rescuing him and saving his life, while still under fire.

As you can read in the above citation, there was even one time when he was seriously wounded himself, and was waiting to be carried out on a stretcher; and seeing another soldier more seriously wounded than himself, he crawled over to him and began rendering first aid to him; and then he gave up his stretcher so that this other soldier could be taken out first.

In addition to his own wounds, he also had a broken arm; and so he proceeded to form a splint out of a rifle that was shot in half, and again while still under fire, he crawled out under his own effort, to safety.

This man was even known for retendering first aid to the enemy, when he ran across Japanese soldiers who had been wounded.

On a side note, the man whose voice you hear, doing the voice over in the first video clip, is a personal friend of mine, and also a brother in the Lord. His name is Casey Hayes; and this reminds me of a note I once saw posted on his refrigerator door, that was a quote from a John Wayne war move, which said: “All wars are filled with brave men who are scared, and would rather be somewhere else!”

I don’t think truer words where ever spoken; and therein lies a message for all of us, in that it is not the absence of fear that makes a hero; but rather it is how we react in the face of it. Selah

Shalom,

Skip Barland


HOW TO RECEIVE YOUR MIRACLE…

(Please click here to view program)

This Week’s Guest
Billy Burke
July 5-11, 2010

At the age of 9, Billy Burke had terminal brain cancer and was given only 3 days to live.

Convinced that if she could get her grandson to a Kathryn Kuhlman healing meeting he would be healed, Billy’s grandmother had him released from the hospital against doctors’ recommendations.

Billy went to the meeting and was miraculously healed, with medical verification.

Now Billy ministers in the same miracle anointing that healed him.

This week Billy shares the keys to healing and manifesting your miracle

As a young Christian, newly saved myself, in the 70’s, I can remember attending Kathryn Kuhlman meetings every month at the Shrine Auditorium, in Los Angeles.

It was not only my first experience to witness first hand a miracle, when I saw this man’s leg grow out before my eyes; it was also my first experience at being truly and deeply touched by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Her services were phenomenal, and just the awesome presence of the Holy Spirit that could be felt there, could literally change your life, and it most certainly did mine, I can tell you.

I hope this testimony will give hope and encouragement to those who truly are believing God for their miracle, whether it be for healing, provision, or whatever.

And to that end I bid you all…

Shalom (which by the ways means God’s PEACE, HEALTH, and PROVISION, with nothing lacking or missing)

Skip Barland


Another prophetic prospective… this one from Paul Keith Davis: On the Gulf Oil Crisis

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse cannot be far off, and the time of which the Book of Revelation speaks, in Chapter 6 is very near!!!


It should be all but obvious that something is stirring in the spiritual realm, in both the world, and more specifically here at home, in the United States; as the events of the last couple of years that have shaken our nation, hopefully to its knees, have not been by accident; and neither, I believe, is this Gulf Oil Crisis that we are dealing with today!

Satan is accelerating his efforts to implement his kingdom in the earth, which I believe will be the next step beyond this so called “New World Order;” which will ultimately lead to a One Word Government and monetary system, that will be represented by either a mark on the forehead or on the right hand; and this will be the kingdom of the Beast of Revelation, also known as the Antichrist.

All of this can only mean that our Lord’s return is near.. even at the door; but we have a lot of work yet to do!

There is a lot of people in the world who are yet to be saved, and the church had better prepare for a revival and move of the Holy Spirit, like this world has never seen before!

Paul Keith Davis, in the article below, is relating to us a message that he received from the Lord back in 2006, that certainly appears to be what we see happening in this current Gulf Crisis today.

Once again the news is reported before it happens… and this time four years in advance.

It is a very interesting read and perspective; and I think we ALL need to be paying more attention to the message that the Spirit is saying to the church today, from a number of different places!

I believe that the waters are about to get a lot rougher in the coming days and months, and years, as truly the enemy, who is the Devil, knows that his days are numbered and his time is short; but fear not, for as things get worse in the world, they will be getting better in the church, as the Lord raises up His standard and God’s people get stronger! Selah

Shalom,

Skip Barland



From: The Elijah List [mailto:propheticword@elijahlist.com]
Sent: Monday, July 05, 2010 12:32 AM
To: theskipper@cox.net
Subject: Paul Keith Davis: The Gulf Oil Crisis


The Gulf Oil Crisis

Contend for a Greater Measure of Prophetic Understanding

Obviously, the question most often asked in recent days concerns our prophetic perspective of the calamities associated with the oil spill. This is something that we are very personally and intimately involved in as it is occurring right outside our home. Clearly, I have spent countless hours praying over the subject both as a defense mechanism for our region and prophetic understanding of its implications.

In the process, I personally felt it was imperative to not take a hindsight position and prophesy after the fact with various impressions or opinions. That posture has a place of value to spearhead intercession and mobilization of resources; even so, I have felt a greater need for a more sure word of prophecy that bears the insignia of Heaven and provides valid direction and insight to mobilize God’s people.

The Biblical pattern has always been that prophets foretold key events with direction and insight attached to it. When the event occurred as prophesied, a greater measure of faith could be attached to the message associated with it.

Exodus 4 outlines the model for ministry in the life of Moses; spiritual signs were given with a voice or message. It is the message that is of paramount importance.

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.—Exodus 4:8

According to Amos 3:7, the Lord will do nothing unless He first reveals His secret counsel to the servants the prophets. Furthermore, Jeremiah articulated God’s perspective in Jeremiah 28:9 saying:

“The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent.”

It is imperative that we now contend for a greater measure of prophetic understanding and foretell events before they occur with the corresponding heavenly message. With that said, I felt it essential to only prophesy of what we may have seen before the event. In December 2006 I had a prophetic experience that I now believe has direct application.

Prophetic Experience of a “Manhole”

Further below I will share a transcript of the full message as I preached it in 2008. However, there are two quick points I would like to highlight. In this experience I saw what appeared as a “manhole” being lifted from the bowels of the earth. In various times of sharing this message throughout the last three years I have used the expression “manhole” as the best description of the image I saw being opened over the “bowels of the earth” or the “bowels of Hell.” (I used both expressions in various accounts of sharing the experience.)

When I finally began to understand the implications of this experience with the oil spill, the Lord reminded me that this is a “man-made hole” that has opened the bowels of the earth to this deep reservoir of oil. The footage shown on news networks of the oil billowing up into the Gulf are almost identical to the images I saw as the manhole was lifted and clouds of evil began to pour out. In my experience the lid or manhole looked like this image featured here.

As a further confirmation, there was an article published in Petroleum World magazine entitled, “The Well from Hell.” In the article the author made this statement:

According to the New York Times, BP’s internal “documents show that in March, after several weeks of problems on the rig, BP was struggling with a loss of ‘well control.’ And as far back as 11 months ago, it was concerned about the well casing and the blowout preventer.” The problem is that this methane, located deep in the bowels of the earth, is under tremendous pressure…

This article utilized some of the exact language that I used while describing my experience. Furthermore, while in Connecticut in early June we were discussing the oil situation and one of our hosts commented that he had listened to me share my prophetic experience concerning the lid being lifted over the bowels of the earth.

He reminded me that I saw spirits ascending that had the appearance of Hitler and other tyrants of the past. He pointed out that Hitler was born on April 20 and this event started on April 20. Just in recent days we have seen an escalation in anti-Israel sentiment that is demonically inspired.

This seemed to be a further affirmation of the application of the experience. The Bible predicted that during the last days darkness would cover the Earth and deep darkness the people; but also marked the exact time that God’s people would “arise and shine for our light has come” (see Isaiah 60:1-5.)

The Oil Spill

From my perspective, I feel this is not an act of God but the foolishness and greed of mankind that the enemy has influenced and fueled as the “devourer.” Even so, God will use this as a signpost that we have crossed a line of demarcation in end-of-the-age events.

The good news is, I heard a Voice say in my 2006 experience that great hosts of Heaven will be dispatched to work with Christians to prepare and equip them to walk in realms of glory to facilitate the harvest and become the mature sons of the Kingdom. That is our hope and the object of our prayerful focus and determination.

When evil abounds, grace will much more abound. This is not a time for fear but faith-filled decrees and proclamations in agreement with God to activate His people to meet the challenges of this age and overcome the enemy’s attempt to hinder and impede the harvest.

The following is a written transcript of a message preached in 2008 in which I share this experience.

Encounter of Lid Being Lifted From Bowels of Hell

December 2006 I had a revelatory encounter that I have shared in various places of travel. But the Lord is beginning to give us the next installment of understanding it. I was very restless one evening and couldn’t sleep. I prayed for a while and finally went to bed.

The moment my head hit the pillow, I went into a revelatory experience. I saw, as it were, a lid that looked like a manhole being lifted from the bowels of Hell. The unique thing about this experience was that as I was experiencing it, I was also articulating audibly what I was seeing. Wanda was able to listen as I spoke what I saw. I watched as these spirits came pouring up out of Hell, and I even recognized the appearance of some of them.

I saw spirits that had a resemblance to Hitler and Stalin, and other tyrants of the past; I knew we had crossed some form of timeline in the plan of Heaven, and that this end-time darkness had been released on the earth.

I watched as these spirits were coming out of Hell and literally manifesting themselves in the bedrooms of people. And I watched as these spirits were teaching individuals how to walk in realms of evil and darkness.

When it seemed I couldn’t watch anymore, I heard a Voice come booming out of Heaven. And the Voice said, “The sons of light must respond in like manner.”

I watched as angels were coming out of Heaven and were manifesting themselves in the bedrooms of individuals and speaking to them and training them to walk in Heavenly realms never before so freely accessed by a generation of people.

And the good news of this message and what the Lord is doing now is revealing to a certain degree the nature of these angels being dispatched from the Throne room. Interestingly I had this experience on a Friday afternoon, and I went through the weekend contemplating it. On Monday morning the Holy Spirit told me to write the experience down and e-mail it to Neville Johnson.

It turned out that very day he had exactly the same experience. He even saw the identifications of the same spirits of darkness being released by name. He shared his experience with friends that morning and received my email 12 hours later outlining the exact same experience…”Out of the mouth of two or three witnesses, let the Word be established.”

If you’ll remember in the experience that Neville and I shared together, there would be angels coming out of Heaven to meet with saints to prepare them for this calling. Now we are discovering these are not just going to be ordinary angels. These are angels of a very extraordinary nature coming from standing in the presence of Almighty God. Isaiah 63:9 declares:

“In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old.”

The Angel of His Presence saved them! We’re finding out that this could have been more accurately translated in the original language, “Messenger of His Face.” The word used here for “angel” is most often translated “messenger.” The word for “Presence” is most often translated “face.” The Lord sent the Messenger of His Face to save them.

So what I’m prophesying to you this evening is, “That messengers of His face are coming from Heaven to empower us to become messengers of His face.”

It says in some rabbinical writings that the “Angels of His Presence” are high level angels, also known as the “Angels of His face.” According to the Book of Jubilees, “Angels of His Presence” are angels of sanctification and are among the highest order of angels. According to rabbinical tradition, the “Angels of His Presence” are the carriers of His Glory.

There was an incredible promise given to the patriarch Jacob. He had one of the most fantastic experiences ever given to a human being. There was something that distinguished him from his brother Esau; I submit to you it was his un-denying desire, even though his methods were poor, to be blessed with a very specific and unique blessing. A very specific and unique blessing is what he was contending for.

If you’ll remember, Abraham had been given a promise that he would have a son through Sarah. However, the promise seemed impossible since the Bible says his body was as good as dead. Then, the Lord appeared to him for the first time in human history as El Shaddai.

I was in Dallas, Texas, several years ago, preaching on the ministry and anointing of El Shaddai. I had shared that El Shaddai was the “All Sufficient-One, the many-breasted One,” like I had read in dictionaries. There happened to be a professor of Hebrew in the meeting. He came to me after the meeting and said, “Can I help you a little bit?”

He said, “What you shared about El Shaddai is not inaccurate, it’s just incomplete.” He said, “The truest definition of El Shaddai is, ‘I am the God of utter ruin and devastation and I am here to do for you what you cannot do for yourself.'”

Abraham was not able to fulfill the promise now in his own strength. God did for him what he could not do for himself. That’s called the El Shaddai blessing. Can I submit to you what Israel needs in this very hour is the El Shaddai blessing? Can I equally submit to you that the Bride of Christ needs the El Shaddai blessing?

That blessing was then transferred and imparted from Abraham to Isaac. Isaac received the blessing given to Abraham; to be fruitful and multiply and occupy the land of his sojourning. That was the blessing that Jacob had to have, even if he were to become a “supplanter” to get it.

When the time came, Isaac laid his hands upon Jacob and blessed him with the El Shaddai blessing. He said, “May God Almighty, or El Shaddai, bless you to make you fruitful and multiply, and occupy the land of your sojourning.”

That very day that blessing opened the Heavens over Jacob. With that blessing, Jacob traveled one day’s journey. When evening came, he laid his head upon a rock and saw the Heavens opened and angels ascending and descending. We need the El Shaddai blessing to open the Heavens for us as it did for Jacob.

We need the El Shaddai blessing tonight to open the Heavens and release the “Angels of His Presence.” The Bible tells us over in Genesis 48:3, when Jacob is recounting this experience to his son Joseph, he said it was El Shaddai that appeared at the head of that ladder when the blessing was given to him. In Genesis 28:13-14 he said:

“Behold, the Lord stood above it and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.'”

When Jacob awoke from the experience he said, “This is none other than the House of God and the very gate of Heaven.”

Later on, we then find his descendants, the children of Israel, in Egyptian bondage, but they had a promise of deliverance. There was a very specific and unique anointing that was released to them to bring them into this promise that was given to Jacob.

The Bible records in Exodus 23: “Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him. But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries… But you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst.”

That was no ordinary angel; it was the Angel of His Presence. That was the Pillar of Fire in the burning bush; that was the Pillar of Fire that met Paul on the road to Damascus; that was the Pillar of Fire that we saw revealed before thousands one generation ago to reveal the secrets of the hearts.

The Lord manifests Himself as the Angel of His Presence, but He has in His jurisdiction angels of His presence or messengers of His face. Remember what Gabriel said when he appeared to a little 15-year-old Jewish girl? “I am Gabriel, and I stand in the Presence of Almighty God.”

The greatest revival that the modern Church era has ever seen was commissioned in a very unique way. A little, free-will Baptist minister withdrew into a cabin deep into the woods of Indiana. He was having supernatural experiences for which he had no grid of understanding. He had told his wife that day, “I’m going into my cabin to pray, and if God does not meet with me, you’ll never see my face again.” He said, “I’ll die in that cabin before I leave it, without the Lord coming to talk to me.”

Three o’clock in the morning, after having prayed and wept until his eyes were practically shut, he sat on a chair with no more prayer left in him. Three o’clock in the morning, deep in the woods, no electricity, no running water, no wife to hold on to if he got scared, when suddenly a ball of Fire came into the cabin. And if that weren’t enough to scare you, a man came walking into the room and stood under the ball of Fire.

The Angel said, “Fear not, for I am sent from the Presence of Almighty God.” Can I submit to you tonight that we need to hear an angel come and say, “I am sent from the Presence of Almighty God”?

The man was released into a commissioning. The Angel said, “Your peculiar life and your misunderstood ways are to indicate that you’re to carry the ministry of healing to the nations of the earth. You’ll pray for kings and princes and monarchs.”

He said, “How can that be? I’m an uneducated man, and a poor man, and I live among poor people.” The angel said, “As Moses was given two signs to validate his ministry, so will you.”

That was on May 7, 1946. By 1948, the entire world was in revival. Millions of people came into the Kingdom. Millions of people were healed supernaturally by the power of God.

Never before has any generation been more desperate than ours to see a demonstration of the power of God. But we’re discovering there is something greater than that: that is, to encounter the God of Power.

Right now all over the nation there are people that are following signs and wonders. But I submit to you, there will be a company of people emerging today and signs and wonders are going to follow them!

And the secret that is going to release us into that mandate is when the Messengers of His face come who are the carriers of the Glory of God.

The prophet Moses stood face-to-face before the Lord Jesus, under a covenant sealed with the blood of bulls and goats. I had an experience where I saw the Apostle Paul sticking his bony apostolic finger right in my chest. He said, “Moses had to veil his face because of the residual glory under a covenant sealed with the blood of bulls and goats.” He said, “You have the covenant sealed with the ”Blood of Jesus Christ, what’s your problem?” This is his admonition from 2 Corinthians 3.

In other words, he wasn’t saying that we should timidly say, “Can I come into Your Presence?” He was admonishing us to prepare ourselves and come boldly before the Throne of grace and meet with the Lord face-to-face. We can’t do that flippantly…there is Throne room protocol; but the grace to live in that place was purchased at the Cross and it is attainable.

Zechariah 6:1-5 declares: “Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong dappled horses. Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel replied to me, ‘These are the four spirits of Heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth…'”

I submit to you there is a host of Heaven that has been reserved for this end-time confrontation that go forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth; the very same ones that will bring the Bride of Christ into her end-time mandate will be the very same ones that cover and protect Israel.

You and I are called to be messengers of His face; we have a calling to see the Lord face-to-face. Jacob had an experience with God. He saw the Lord face-to-face and lived to tell about it. Moses saw the Lord face-to-face and carried the Glory of God. There is about to be a release from Heaven that is to begin to cause you and I to be illuminated, and we’re going to shine with the Glory of God.

Daniel said we’re going to shine as the brightness of the expanse of Heaven, and we’re going to lead many to righteousness. The Lord Jesus said, “The Son of man is going to send forth His angels that gather out of His Kingdom all stumbling blocks and everything offensive; then the righteous shall shine like the sun in the Kingdom of our Father.”

We have an invitation to “come up here.” I believe the El Shaddai blessing is going to be released upon us to open the Heavens like it did for Jacob. The Lord is going to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves. Then He gets all the Glory. No flesh is going to glory in His Presence.

Angels of His Presence;
Messengers of His Face

I believe they just came in. Something just shifted in the room a moment ago. I’m contending for this to take place now. Wouldn’t it be incredible if we could leave Israel carrying with us messengers of His face? Wouldn’t it be incredible if the Angel of His Presence descended to protect the borders of Israel?

He will cover them and He will protect them. I submit to you that the enemy is trying to escalate things before their time. Several years ago I heard the Lord say that the Prince of Persia is once again trying to withstand the birthing of God’s purposes. And the way he was trying to do that was to facilitate things that are legitimately going to happen, but he is trying to initiate them before its timing.

It says in Zechariah 14:1-3, “Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.”

But it doesn’t stop there. “Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split…”

My point in all this is all about Jerusalem. It says on some level that there will be a splitting of Jerusalem. It says it here in Zechariah. But not right now! I’m not sure what it’s going to look like when this prophecy is fulfilled, but I know when it happens, the Lord Jesus is coming down to set His foot upon this mountain.

And you see, the battle is taking place in the Heavens right now, as the enemy is trying to make these things happen before the right timing. He’s been trying to bring you and I into a battle before we are ready for the battle. But I’m telling you, angels are coming to visit with people to facilitate the preparation. He can do for us in a day what we think will take a year. The messengers of His face are the carriers of His glory.
—End of the Transcribed Message from 2008

Conclusion

I feel confident the circumstances surrounding the oil spill highlight spiritual parallels marking the release of great darkness in our nation and around the world. Correspondingly, the prayers of the saints in agreement with God will facilitate the release of Heaven’s host to work closely with the Last Day Church to:

1. Fulfill Biblical End-Time Admonitions
2. Prepare for the Harvest
3. Activate the Bride/Sons of the Kingdom
4. Function in our Role as Priests/Kings
5. Stand in the Gap for Israel in a Greater Way

All spiritual seeds are coming to maturity simultaneously, just as the Bible predicted. I see these events as a signpost in the natural to emulate spiritual realities primarily targeted against Israel and the Church. The ultimate objective is to hinder our ability to achieve our mandate and influence our generation socially, economically, spiritually and culturally.

It is my prayer that God will take what the enemy intends for evil and utilize it for good by opening doors of opportunity for Christian ingenuity and words from God to help resolve this overwhelming situation involving the oil spill.

On a personal note, I believe the enemy is attempting to utilize these events to circumvent the promised outpouring for our region. We must look at it as a personal assault on our inheritance and begin to take a stand as the mighty men of valor described in the Bible. I’ve always admired the story of Shammah in 2 Samuel 23:11-12 saying:

Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee a Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered into a troop where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it and struck the Philistines; and the LORD brought about a great victory.

At the time of harvest the enemy routinely rushed in like a flood to steal the inheritance of God’s people. The lentils could represent all things brought to the place of harvest promised during the latter days. Shammah is a representation of God’s Army, filled with courage and valor imparted through God’s lion-like nature, who refuses to run even when faced with overwhelming odds. That noble act will strike God’s heart and He will give a great victory to His remnant. That is what I am believing for!

Paul Keith Davis
WhiteDove Ministries


Email: inquiries@whitedoveministries.org

The stealing of a Nation… called America!

Once again this is the direction our nation is headed, unless we change our present course!


The article below I think is very accurate in its description of Liberalism today.

I would also add that this Liberal mindset, aside from the fact (as the article below states) that it is most often cowardly and in the face of truth and facts, it most often chooses to believe in lies; and only sees whatever serves the world view they wish to acknowledge; in addition, it also reminds me a lot of the mindset that was so pronounced through the whole Neville Chamberlain fiasco, in the late 30’s; that sought to insure peace through compromise and appeasement; and instead ended up insuring the inevitability of war!

What’s going on in our culture today, and also in our present government, I would say, is a lot like what we saw happening back in the 30’s, both in the world at that time, and also more specifically in pre-Nazi Germany.

I’ve said this before, and I really think it is true, that this liberal mindset, that is seeking to guaranteed everyone a piece of the pie, by having BIG government rob from the rich (meaning taking from the entrepreneurs and independent business people) through taxation; and giving to the poor, it is in fact setting our nation up for a totalitarian dictatorship… and that is exactly what took place in Germany in the 30s.

To add insult to injury, this perverted world view that allows for this behavior, is also taught and supported in our Public Education System; in our colleges and universities; and also in our media!

We are being set up as both a nation and a culture to take a fall folks, and unless We the People, who are the ones who are both responsible and accountable for our government, unless we exercise our Constitutional rights and take back our government, and restore our Constitutional Republic, then we will most definitely repeat history, and we will go the exact same way as Nazi Germany did.

Now I ask you, is that the sort of “Change” that you really want?

Well, I can tell you it is most certainly what we are getting with this Obama administration; but folks please also understand that the Republicans are just as guilty, and are as much at fault as are the Democrats.

Even as Alan Keyes has rightly pointed out, that when it comes to the Globalist agenda, partisan politics aside, both the Republican and Democratic parties for years, at least when it comes to their leadership, both parties have been like two sides of the same coin… and are totally compromised, and are totally on board, supporting this “New World Order“ agenda.

After all, if you will remember it was a Republican President, in George H.W. Bush Sr., who in a speech he gave back in 1991, first publically introduced the concept of a “New World Order”… and he said then that it was inevitable!

As I’ve said before, whether you are talking about the Bushes, the Clintons, or Obama… these people were recruited in their college years to betray our U.S. Constitution, our Republic, and also therefore our country; for how pray tell can you establish this “New World Order,” without first undermining our Constitution, as they are now doing, and without also permanently disabling our Republic?

As you can see from what is happening in the news of late, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, regarding our Second Amendments rights; as she is trying to align our policies and laws in our government, not with our U.S. Constitution; but rather with the views of the United Nations, and the world court; and in so doing she is virtually ignoring our U.S. Constitution… and folks, by our silence we are letting these people get away with it!

Somewhere somehow We the People are going to have to find some backbone and speak up on the side of our Constitution and our Republic; or believe me… as sure as shooting… we are going to lose both, as well as our liberty and freedom as a people!

Be advised folks, as our goose is being cooked, even as I write, and We the People had better stand up and take notice; and let our voices be heard!

In the mean time, our best offense is a strong prayer offensive; in an ongoing air assault against the principalities of darkness… and so to that end, please continue to watch and pray for God’s mercy; His forgiveness; and for His intervention in our country once again.

Pray for Revival and a Spiritual Awakening! Selah and Amen

Shalom,

Skip Barland



From: Tikkun News [mailto:webmaster@tikkunministries.org]
Sent: Monday, July 05, 2010 7:06 AM
To: theskipper@cox.net
Subject: Israel’s Restoration July ’10 Newsletter


A publication of Tikkun International, Tents of Mercy & Revive Israel, July 2010   Vol 19, No 7

WHY LIBERALS HAVE TURNED AGAINST ISRAEL

By Daniel C. Juster, Director
How I Would Define Liberals

In the last 30 years many onetime liberal supporters have turned against Israel.

To understand liberals, we should have some idea of their belief system.

Liberals are usually distinguished from socialists. The latter believe that the government should own the means of production; that is, public ownership.

Liberals generally believe that there should be a much more even distribution of the productive wealth of a private market place.

In addition, liberals believe in a much greater evenness in distribution of the wealth of the society. A large government sector is needed to attain greater economic justice for all.

There can be disparities between wealthy and modest individuals, but neither the historic nor present extremes.

Liberals traditionally believe in a broadly defined understanding of human rights: civil rights, women’s rights, free speech rights and more.

Today this is expanded to include sexual orientation rights, homosexual rights and abortion rights.

Conservatives would argue that they also believe in legislation to protect many of these rights. However, conservatives want to err much more on the side of individual liberty, privacy, small government and personal responsibility.

They reject large-scale government redistribution and believe that real competition and freedom will eventually bring greater justice.

The Loss of Belief in God Among Liberals

In past times, both liberals and conservatives professed belief in God and His moral values (Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy).

Evangelicals were great supporters of Roosevelt and were very oriented to the Democratic Party until the abortion issue in the 1970s.

The Democratic Party was the party of the majority of Evangelicals. The Democrats also held sway with the majority of Catholics and Jews.

However, since the Vietnam War, there has been a shift in liberalism toward a more radical leftist view. Such non-historically rooted developments include a virulent secularism, relativism, the questioning of free speech if it violates political correctness (branded sometimes as hate speech), homosexual rights, abortion rights, and a great skepticism concerning American power.

America is seen as the problem in the world rather than the solution. We must not think that the liberalism of today is the same as that of Harry Truman. It is quite different. Often times the old liberalism had a strong religious base.

I believe that the main reason why liberalism (at least in its more leftist perspective), is such a problem is due to its malignant secular relativism.

“The Daily Kos” and “Move On” are two organizations with web sites that represent the new radical secular left. Such folks have succeeded in infiltrating into the culture formation leadership roles in our society (media, journalism, and academia).

While there are some Christians who support their positions, Christian liberals are not in the forefront of leadership in our society. So how does this play out?

Secular Liberalism is Cowardly

Recently, Paul Berman, a journalist professor at Johns Hopkins University has written an important book, The Flight of the Intellectuals.

The intellectual class is, in general, a liberal class. Berman catalogues the developments of the last 20 years.

It is quite stunning. In the early 90s the intellectuals were standing with Salman Rushdie, the author of the novel, The Satanic Verses which offended conservative Islamic leaders. A fatwa was put out, encouraging faithful Muslims to kill him. Intellectuals of all stripes spoke out strongly in his defense.

In the years following, liberal intellectuals have become more and more silent in the face of the greatest Muslim atrocities and other human rights violations.

Compare their loud responses to the recent Israeli defense of the Gaza blockade and the killing of 9 out of a mob that sought to murder the Israeli naval commandos.

A voice is raised for Darfur, but with much less intensity. Where are the recent street protests?

Compared to Iran and its terrible atrocities after its elections, Israel is much more vilified.

What of the sinking by North Korea of the South Korean naval ship where many died? There was no significant outcry.

There is no sustained protest led by the liberal intellectuals over the awesome oppression of women in the Muslim world.

Berman sees this as a self-betrayal of the feminist movement as well. This is all well catalogued in a recent Wall Street Journal article (June 8) by Bret Stephens.

How can this be explained? Berman shows a progressive decline in criticism of Muslim behavior and a greater and greater willingness to accommodate it.

Why? Because terrorism itself has succeeded in intimidating much of Western society, including liberals.

They have been cowed into silence by the threat of potential attacks against them should they criticize the Islamic agenda.

Their secular relativism robs them of courage to stand up against what is clearly wrong.

I believe they are affected by a subconscious desire to appease the Muslims in the hope that they will eventually calm down and leave the rest of us alone.

Appeasement is in, courage and opposition is out. It is a massive cultural Stockholm syndrome where the captive identifies with the oppressor, or in this case, the potential oppressor.

Appeasement is part of fallen human nature. The idea of sacrificing Israel so that they – the Muslims – will leave us alone may underlie much of the liberal response.

Jamie Glasov’s book, United in Hate, also asserts a psychology of self-hatred among some in the left that leads to hatred of our society.

This hatred promotes identification with any who hate the United States and the capitalist West.

Israel – who, in this context, is seen as a colonial power – is included among those to be hated.

It was quite revealing recently to watch CNN shortly after the Gaza blockade conflict. They showed a video taken by the Israeli Navy.

The Israelis land on the ship and are surrounded by a mob that beats them with iron bars and clubs and throws one overboard.

The video is really quite clear! Yet the commentator says that the video is grainy and unclear and one cannot really make out what is happening.

Wow! Why would he say that? Was it to appear neutral?

However, a reporter is to report facts! This was said in the face of very clear empirical fact.

Courage and the Fear of God

The best philosophers noted that a society of courage requires the fear of God.

In order to protect the morality and liberty of a nation, belief in God and His values needs to be at a level where individuals are willing if necessary, to give their life in sacrifice should the national good require it.

A willingness to make such a sacrifice is based on the understanding that there is reward after death.

However, as the great apostle Paul stated it “if in this life we only have hope” we are most miserable, (1 Corinthians 15:19).

During the Vietnam War many chanted, “Hell no, I won’t go,” and “Make love, not war.”

These protesters were portrayed as idealists. While this may have been true of a few, the majority were simply self-indulged baby boomers.

Thankfully many became Christians through the Jesus movement. Many, however, did not and some lead the leftist liberals today.

The ideas in these books and the referenced article are very persuasive. These writings give credibility to the statement in the book of Revelation that the cowardly will be lost: “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)

The cowardly are willing to do terrible things and accommodate terrible things to save their own skins. This was clearly the case in Nazi Germany and continental Europe as a whole.

Anti-Semitism and Injustice

Certainly one cannot understand the disproportionate and terribly unjust criticism of Israel without the element of Anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is a huge and growing phenomenon today.

The Arab radicals are steeped in Nazi caricatures of Jews. They read Hitler with appreciation and frequently cite passages from the Koran that predict the final destruction of the Jews at their hands.

The liberal intellectuals choose to be relatively quiet about this and instead vilify Israel for “provoking” the Arabs.

Somehow Israel, in the midst of hostile Muslim nations, the only nation that practices human rights in the region, is said to be the real evil.

That Iran has a base in South Lebanon through Hezbollah and in the south in Gaza through Hamas … well, that can be overlooked; that Iran is carrying out its plans to destroy Israel, that is not to be protested.

The End of this Age

I am not an alarmist. However, it is hard not to believe that we are entering into frightfully prophetic days as predicted in the Bible, perhaps the end of this Age.

Then again, we are called to have courage and to believe that such days will be the greatest days in history for those with faith and courage. These are the days of a great harvest from the nations and the final salvation of Israel.

By Daniel Juster

http://www.tikkunministries.org/newsletters/dj-jul10.asp

The media is the message… a look at how our media has changed our culture for the worse!

Wholesome Family Entertainment in the 50’s and 60’s verses today… and oh boy how it has changed!


Do you remember…

The Lone Ranger Series?

“A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty, ‘Hi Yo Silver!…It’s THE LONE RANGER.  With his faithful Indian companion Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the early west. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. The Lone Ranger rides again!”

These words were used to announce the arrival of America’s most best-loved character, the immortal The Lone Ranger and his trusted sidekick, Tonto.  No other fictional creation has ever had the magic and mystique of Fran Striker’s creation… nor the staying power.  The Lone Ranger is as beloved today as he was when he rode into hearts years ago.

To understand the whole Lone Ranger experience, you have to understand that by the time the Lone Ranger was twenty years old in 1953, he was being broadcast three times each week on 249 radio stations, he achieved the highest rating of any Western program ever, and he had a weekly listening audience of twelve million people.  At that same twentieth anniversary, he was being broadcast on ninety television stations and was the highest rated western on TV, being seen by five million viewers.  He also appeared in 177 daily papers, 119 Sunday papers and was being read by 71 million people in comic strip fashion.  This is in addition to the many novels and series books that had also been written by this time.  He was perhaps the first character that was truly a multi-media entity, having a very broad spectrum of appreciation, not to mention the toys and clothing that were being sold.


How about these for values that were written by the series creator:

The Lone Ranger’s Creed

By Fran Striker

(circa 1933)

1. I believe that to have a friend, a man must be one.

2. That all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world.

3. That God put the firewood there, but that every man must gather and light it himself.

4. In being prepared physically, mentally, and morally to fight when necessary for that which is right.

5. That a man should make the most of what equipment he has.

6. That “this government, of the people, by the people, and for the people,” shall live always.

7. That men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number.

8. That sooner or later… somewhere… somehow… we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken.

9. That all things change, but the truth, and the truth alone lives on forever.

10. I believe in my Creator, my country, my fellow man.
Note about the author:
Fran Striker started as a freelance writer, creating and writing his own series and selling them to stations across the United States. He began a long association with station owner George W. Trendle and radio station WXYZ in Detroit, which was trying to make a name for itself as a producer of radio drama, creating and writing the early series Thrills of the Secret Service, Dr. Fang and Warner Lester, Manhunter (which introduced Mike Axford, later a supporting character on The Green Hornet).Late in 1932, Striker began working on The Lone Ranger; his earliest scripts were largely reworked from his earlier series, Covered Wagon Days. A letter from Trendle, dated Monday, January 30, 1933, clearly gives Striker credit for creating the character. However, by 1934, Striker was pressured by Trendle to sign over his rights to the Lone Ranger, and Trendle claimed credit as the creator. This sparked a long-term controversy over the creation of The Lone Ranger, extending as far as a 1960 television appearance by Striker on To Tell the Truth, which mentioned his role in the character’s creation.

My thanks goes out to John today, for forwarding this Long Ranger Creed to me.

I think if there is any one thing that is missing today in our society and our culture; it is something that is today considered “Old Fashion and Passé,” and that is in the lack of Christian values, as once was portrayed in our media.

It used to be there was always a clear line that was being drawn between what was right and wrong, and good and evil; but that is no longer the case! There was a time when there was no clouding of these issues, as it is today.

I know as an example, some years ago (in the 70’s) I used to work at the ABC studios, on Prospect Ave., in Hollywood, where I worked as a Page in Guest Relations. It was our job to provide security on the various sets, and provide audience control and such; and one of my jobs was to answer the phone in the control booth; and I actually sat next to a person whose job it was to screen and sensor the content on the various shows that were being produced.

Well I can tell you this, things that are allowed today would never have passed muster back in those days… and that includes in both what was allowed in language and also in content.

Today our children are being raised on a much different value system, and actually what is being taught in our public schools and also in our culture, in this so called progressive ideology and value system, is that  there is no foundational bases for good and evil, or for right and wrong… that it is all relative; and so the effort is clearly made today to glorify evil; and also to cloud the lines between what is considered right and wrong, and good and evil.

Where once kids grew up identifying with the heroes in the various series they watched, as exemplified in the “Long Ranger” series; today it is not uncommon to have them siding with the bad guy, or the one who is in opposition to guys in the white hats; and also quite often today the guys in the white hats are themselves portrayed as the crooks.

There was a book I remember reading in college that was written by Marshall McLuhan, entitles The Media is the Message; and the point of the book was to point out the power that the media has in our culture to determine and to set our value system and our morals.

Once it was the purview of the Church, to be the gatekeepers of society; but today that job has been turned over to the talking heads on the evening news, and our Hollywood stars; and it is very definitely the media, that over time, have been the ones who have set the standards and morals for our society, as to what is good and evil, and what is right and wrong.

You can see this all over today in our Sitcoms that are so popular today, and also in the drama and action features that we have.

No more do we have the traditional Judaic/Christian values being exemplified, in having a normal family being portrayed, where there is a mother and father, who are portrayed in any traditional fashion, as say you once could see in programs like “Ozzie and Harriet,” The Donna Reed Show,” or “Father Knows Best;” but rather today if there is a father in the picture his character is most often portrayed as a bumbling fool, and it is the kids who run the house; and certainly in most cases today the father figure is not portrayed in a good and wise light.

Also, you will find today that many of the characters, in both the sitcoms and action/adventure dramas, are often being portrayed today as being homosexuals, and you actually see stories being written today, portraying everyday life situations, where this lifestyle is made to appear as natural and normal; and the way they do this is to inject humor, and to get you to laugh at the situations that are being portrayed; that in years past would have been considered taboo, and would never have been allowed; but today it’s no big thing.

Also, you will note that quite often if a person is portrayed as a “Christian” today, most often he or she will be the shady character, the phony, or the raving lunatic, who is a mass murderer, or worse.

Satan has well used the media to his advantage; and I would even say if we can attribute our present condition today, in our society, and the sad and immoral state of so many of our governing officials and leadership in both the public and the private sectors, who have been taking us on this downward spiral, and this moral and ethically landslide for years now, I would have to say that the major influence and cause of today’s lack of morals and the absence of any moral standards and compass for our society… is in fact the media!

My position is that if we, who are Christians, are to take back our culture, then we are also going to have to take back the media; and we are going to have to start producing programs, movies, music, and all forms of entertainment that are both well done and entertaining; that are every bit as real and professional, and even more so, than what we see coming out of Hollywood today.

I mean come on folks, we do have the Holy Spirit—who is by the way very creative—on our side; and so instead of the media being used in a negative fashion to undermine our culture and society in a negative way; why not use it to turn our culture around and aim it back in the right direction… back towards God?

Anyhow, that’s my two cents for today… how do you feel?

Shalom,

Skip Barland