12 posts tagged “prophecy”

On this website you will read what I feel has been revealed to me about many of the Bible’s end time prophecies.  I have spent a lot of time over the past 3 years studying and praying about these prophecies.  As you read what is written here, you will find that I do not agree with many popular beliefs regarding many of the Lord’s prophecies.  It has become clear to me that many of the popular interpretations of these prophecies are not correct.  In fact, I will explain to you in later posts why I believe our spiritual enemy will use these popular prophecy beliefs against us.

There are many people in the world today who consider themselves well-informed Christians.  They believe that they fully understand the prophecies and warnings given to us in Daniel, Revelation and other books in the Bible.  They are now either sitting back waiting for these things to happen (a secret rapture, an evil world leader, 7 years of tribulation, a peace treaty between the antichrist and Israel, etc) or they are actively proclaiming to the world that they have all the answers – we all simply need to listen to them.

What if many popular prophecy scholars today have it completely wrong?  What if they have let worldly pursuits cloud their judgment?  What if they have become focused on the world instead of our Lord?  What if our spiritual enemy has offered worldly wealth and glory to them as part of his plan to deceive the world and they have unknowingly accepted because they’re not as mature as they think they are?  What if there isn’t going to be a secret rapture, one evil world leader (antichrist), or a 7 year period of tribulation when the judgments of Revelation will be poured out on the earth?  What if I told you that none of these things are specifically mentioned in the Bible, but are simply interpretations – interpretations that I believe are not true.  What if we’re not as smart as we think we are?  Our self-righteousness has been used mightily by our enemy.

If things begin to rapidly deteriorate in the world and none of the popular interpretations of prophecy come true, what do you think will happen?  There will be many people in the world who are going to feel very lost and alone.  This is why I have been given this message.  It’s time for all of us to change our focus from the world to the Lord’s kingdom.  If you are someone who has been in the church for some time and have believed (as I did for many years) many of the popular interpretations of end time prophecy, you will need to open your mind to the truth and pray to the Lord for confirmation of what I’m going to tell you.  If you are someone who has never been in church or read the Bible, now is the time to come home.   You don’t need any biblical knowledge to start on your journey to know Jesus Christ and our Father.  You only need a desire to know the Truth – a desire to know your Creator and His plan for you.

I fully expect that initially - many non-Christians and Christians alike will not want to believe what is written here.  The reason is that the truth is initially going to be difficult to believe.  You’ll understand as you read through this website.  I want to make something clear from the beginning – there is no personal agenda here.  I do not seek worldly power, glory or wealth.  The world offers me nothing of real value.  Everything in this world is temporary – the sooner we all realize this, the better.  The Lord has changed me over the past 3 years and given me knowledge so that I understand what is happening and why.  Everything I have is His.  I am simply running the race placed before me.  So, with that said, we’re going to begin with what the Bible has to say on the subject of deception and being deceived in our world.

Let’s start by looking at what Jesus had to say on the subject of being deceived in this world.  I believe that many prophecy scholars are missing something very important that Jesus tells us about our current times.

Mathew Chapter 24 begins with the Disciples asking Jesus about the end times. 

“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

 Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.” (Mathew 24:3-4)

Jesus responds by warning us against deception.  There will be many who claim to know Him and lead ‘many’ astray.  Remember – many throughout the world are deceived.

“At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Mathew 24:10-13)

These are very strong words and they speak very loudly to us today.  Notice carefully – ‘many’ turn away from true faith (we’ll discuss this in more detail later) and ‘many’ false prophets will deceive ‘many’ people.  When Jesus says ‘many’, he’s talking about billions of people – and this includes many professed Christians in the world.  Who are these false prophets?  These are people claiming to be God’s teachers and preachers who are, in fact, leading people away from the Truth.  They are leading people away from true faith in Jesus Christ.  They are people involved with false religions and they are people who claim to be Christians, but are not true Disciples.  They do not follow Jesus, but follow our spiritual enemy.  They have infiltrated God’s true church (more on this later).

“At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.” (Mathew 24:23-25)

Once again, Jesus warns us of false prophets.  He adds an addition piece of information here and I feel that it is one of the most important pieces of information given to us.  In my years of attending church, I have never heard anyone discuss this – and I think I know why.  In verse 24, Jesus tells us that these ‘false prophets’ will deceive ‘even the elect’.  Who are the elect?  These are God’s true children.  They are His teachers, preachers and His true prophets.  What Jesus is telling us here is that these false prophets are so deceptive, that they deceive even true believers.  Why is this so important?  Because it’s happening right now – to us.  Our pride and our focus on the world has blinded us.

What we all must realize is that Jesus could obviously see into our future.  He’s God – the 2^nd person of the Holy Trinity. He could see exactly what would be happening in the world during our time – right now.  Does He ever tell us that we would have it all figured out?  No.  What does He give us?  Warnings.  Time and again He warns us about deception.  At a time when we should all be on guard against worldly and spiritual deception – we’ve allowed ourselves to be lulled to sleep.  We are not heeding our Lord’s warnings.  We have become self-righteous because we know it all – while the ‘beasts’ are taking control of the world.

What, in the world today, is Jesus warning us about?  You will find, as you read through these posts, that Jesus is warning us about many things.  He is warning us about the ‘beasts’ of Revelation 13.  He is warning us about false religions and their leaders in the world today and most importantly, He is warning us about the condition of the Christian Church.  Many of us in the Church today are not true Christians.  Many of us go to church and read the Bible – but many have not truly repented.  Many have not truly asked the Lord for forgiveness and therefore, have not been born again by God.  They have been deceived into believing that living a secular, worldly life is A-OK and that they can ‘believe’ and be saved without really following Jesus.  They have not overcome the world and therefore, cannot ‘see’ or ‘hear’ what is really happening in the world around them.  Every one of us must take a very hard look at our lives and determine who we are really following.  If you are like I was, you’ll find that you are not following Jesus Christ.  You have allowed yourself to be blinded by our enemy.  If you will ask God to come into your life, your life will begin an amazing transformation – and you will be able to see with a spiritual eye.  You will begin to follow the One who is not seen by our physical eyes because you will be able to spiritually discern His will for you.

How exactly, are these ‘beasts’ of Revelation 13 deceiving even God’s true children?  How is it possible that we cannot see what’s happening?  The truth is that they are right in front of you everyday.  They have even told us what they are planning to do – and very few are doing anything about it.  Now that’s deception.  This is what Jesus could see.  This is why we received so many warnings. In addition to Jesus’ own words, the Book of Revelation is clear – these ‘beasts’ deceive the whole world – even the elect. 

“And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth.” (Revelation 13:13-14)

“Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.” (Revelation 19:20)

You’ll learn specifics about how events in the world today relate to these prophecies as you continue to read through the posts on this website.  You’ll begin to see how they have deceived you your entire life.

For now, let’s continue to learn about our true enemy and how he is deceiving the world.

Who does the Bible tell us is our true enemy?  Who is really deceiving the world?

“So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world”  (Revelation 12:9)

“We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”  (1 John 5:19)

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)

The Bible is clear on this subject – Satan is the ruler of the world and deceives the whole world.  He is our true enemy.  You will notice that specific nations are not mentioned – he deceives the entire world.  The United States is not immune to this deception.  What you will learn is that the U.S. is actually playing a vital role in deceiving the whole world. 

Who overcomes this world and its ruler? 

“for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:4-5)

Only those who are spiritually regenerated (born again) by God through faith in Jesus Christ overcome this world and its deception.

In the movie ‘The Matrix’, the main character (Neo) discovers at one point that the world he has lived in his whole life is a fantasy created to blind him from the truth.  The parallels between that movie and our world are very similar.  You’ll understand after you read everything here.  You’ll go through the same transformation that Neo went through in the movie.  I know I did.  At first, your mind will reject the truth outright.  You will say it’s not possible, it’s crazy, this can’t possibly be true.  There’s no way I could be that deceived.  I’m intelligent.  I could see this coming if it were real.  As you begin to realize that it is true and that you have been deceived on a global scale – you might just feel physically sick – just like Neo.  You will probably even think at some point that you’d rather go back to being completely ignorant of what is happening around you.  It would be easier this way – simply ignore the truth.  Unfortunately, ignorance is not bliss.

If you will humble yourself, realize that you don’t know everything and pray for knowledge, wisdom, faith, strength, courage – and begin a relationship with our Father and Jesus Christ - God will transform you into someone who isn’t afraid.  You will be set free from this world.  He is looking for those who will allow Him to turn them into spiritually mature warriors.  When the rest of the world is running away in fear and telling you to do the same, you will turn and face your enemy.  You will fight when others fall.  When your day of evil comes, you will stand.  Why?  Because the Lord will be with you – always.

If you are in a Christian Church today, then you know that Satan is the bad guy.  You know that he is deceptive and evil.  You know that he rules over this world.  Does it make more sense that his plans would be widely known or that they are being done in secret – very deceptively?  Will there be one evil world leader who somehow gets the nations of the world to join together as depicted in the ‘Left Behind’ books?  In this deceptive world, does this really make much sense given that the Bible never points to one person as being the antichrist? Will the mark of the beast simply be the act of accepting a microchip implant or will there be deception involved with the mark as well?  If you re-read Revelation 19:20 again (above), you’ll notice that those who have received the mark are ‘deceived’.  Would the world even allow these things to happen (one evil ruler, chip implant as the mark) given that these prophetic scenarios are so widely known?  Or does it make more sense that there is something very secretive, very deceptive going on in the world that will one day take control?  In the light of the Lord’s Word, the truth is that billions of people are deceived by our spiritual enemy and because they have rejected the one, true God - their continued deception will eventually result in their eternal death.  This lines up with what the Bible tells us about Satan and end time deceptions.  This is not a fantasy created by a writer of fiction.  This is the truth. 

These are the questions that kept me up at night for a long time.  I felt that something very important was going on in the world – but I had no real knowledge of it and wasn’t part of it.  I came to the realization that what I was lacking was a real faith in Jesus Christ.  I realized that I was truly deceived.  I came to the startling conclusion that I had allowed Satan to blind me from the Truth.  I realized that as long as I relied on myself, I was going to go nowhere.  I would continue on the broad path to its tragic conclusion.  So, I began to pray and asked God to come into my life and help me overcome the world and its deception.  I searched for the Lord – and He revealed Himself to me.  I asked – and received.  I knocked – and doors were opened. 

What I found - what was revealed to me after much prayer – is that the world is truly deceived – just as the Bible tells us it is.  Something deceptive is going on right before your eyes.  The devil is scheming against us – very deceptively – just as the Bible tells us he will do.  He is the father of lies and therefore, his children in this world are liars.   They lie because deception is part of the plan - a plan that is told to us by the Lord.  Even though Satan wants to keep his plans secret, he (and those he controls in this world) cannot hide their plans from God.  Those justified by faith in Jesus Christ know the Truth – they have overcome the evil one.  They see through his evil plans because they rely on the source of all truth to guide them – the Creator of the heavens and earth.  They are light in a dark world – and the darkness will not overcome them.  While the world will tell you that there are many in the world today, I’m here to tell you there are few true believers.  There are few who have entered through the narrow gate – just as Jesus tells us.  I also believe this is about to change in preparation for the end.

These things no longer keep me up at night.  I sleep soundly.  Why?  Because the Lord watches over me – and the Lord never sleeps.

He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;” (Psalm 121:3)

Why is wealth being taken from the United States?  When you begin to view the world from God’s perspective - and not the world’s – you begin to truly understand.  It’s really very simple.  We have allowed ourselves to be deceived.  The result is that our lives are squarely focused on the world and we have left our Creator.  He’s getting our attention.

Friend deceives friend,
       and no one speaks the truth.
       They have taught their tongues to lie;
       they weary themselves with sinning.

You live in the midst of deception;
       in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,"
       declares the LORD.

Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty says:
       "See, I will refine and test them,
       for what else can I do
       because of the sin of my people?

Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
       it speaks with deceit.
       With his mouth each speaks cordially to his neighbor,
       but in his heart he sets a trap for him.

Should I not punish them for this?"
       declares the LORD.
       "Should I not avenge myself
       on such a nation as this?" (Jeremiah 9:5-9)

June 2006

Hello Everyone! First of all, let me say that this is John writing this letter, although Karen does agree with everything I have written. You are welcome to talk to either her or myself regarding what I’m about to present to you. Depending on your current knowledge of world affairs and your religious beliefs, what I am about to tell you will most likely change your current view of the world and quite possibly your relationship with God. How’s that for the beginning of a letter? It will certainly change your view of me. Because of this, I have a few disclaimers. I am personally writing this email, nothing is copied or forwarded from someone else. This is long, but very important, so please finish reading it today. Finally, I’m not going to pull any punches here, the message of this email will be disturbing to you (depending on your faith). Initially, you will be skeptical, doubtful and will not want to believe some or all of what I’m about to tell you. I assure you it’s only the truth. If you remain skeptical, I urge you to pray, research some (or all) of this on your own and write to me with any questions. Believe me, you will have many questions. Lastly, and this is probably the most important piece to remember as you read through this, I was as spiritually blind as most people until May of 2005. The Lord has called to me, asked me to give up my pursuit of worldly things and follow Him and His purpose for my life. I have answered His call. I am a well-rounded, stable individual (thanks to my parents!) who has never been one to believe in (or write about) conspiracy theories or proclaim my Christian faith openly. I’m going to do both in this letter. The final disclaimer is this: please do not read this and discard it without much thought or because you think I’ve somehow gone off the deep end. If there is one thing I have learned over the past year, it’s this: There are no coincidences in our lives. Each of you is reading this letter for a reason. It’s up to you to determine what the reason is. I am simply a messenger here. From my recent experiences, you will either know the reasons right away or you will need to pray for God’s assistance. Either way, you are starting on a path today that will lead you to greater knowledge and I believe, will ultimately strengthen your faith in God. If you do not currently believe in God or that He sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the Cross so that each of us may have eternal life, I feel confident that you soon will. With that final message, let me begin.

When I was a teenager, my mother told me the story of the book of Revelation in the New Testament in the Bible. For those of you who haven’t read it, many believe that it describes the final 7, horrific years of this age [based on Scripture, I no longer believe this to be true]. It describes an evil one world government (imagine a world government worse than Nazi Germany). Many people either stop reading it or never read it because of the things that are described in the book….war, famine, disease, death, the Wrath of God. Some of it is very disturbing and good people like ourselves, inherently do not like reading about bad things, so many of us choose not to learn about it. I have read it, and being interested in prophesy and mysteries, I have always wondered how the one world government forms. Surely, with the knowledge God has given us in the Bible and the number of Christians in the world today, it can’t possibly form for years! The truth is that it is being formed today, right in front of us. The problem is that we accept what the media tells us and are not researching on our own to learn the truth. The ultimate reason is that many of us simply aren’t paying attention…we’re too preoccupied with the stuff going on in our lives and are ignoring the signs (I’ve been as guilty as anyone). The Bible tells us that many will be deceived during the end times. I’m here to tell you that the world is being deceived today in an effort to bring about the one world government.

Let me ask you a question. Have you researched the events of 9/11 on your own and formed your own opinions? If you’re like everyone else I’ve asked, the answer is no. You have accepted what you’ve been told and moved on as I did.

Like most people, I accepted the official account of the events of Sept 11, 2001. There were some things about the official story that bothered me, but I eventually accepted what I was told and carried on with my life. After all, as with most people in America, I’m a very busy person with many important things to do. I now know that what I thought was important (job status, wealth, house, car, etc) really isn’t important at all. 9/11 slowed America down for a few months, then it was back to business as usual. Fast forward to May 2005. I’m sitting in class at UT on a Saturday afternoon. Out of nowhere a thought pops into my head….I never saw the plane that hit the Pentagon in any photo or video, surely there is a photo/video on the internet after 3 ½ years. That simple thought has led me to not only research 9/11, but eventually the people who are working on creating a one world government and most importantly, my Christian faith. The fact is, you will not find a photo or video of the airliner (757) that hit the Pentagon, simply because a 757 did not hit the Pentagon. An amateur photographer snapped a few digital photos of the wall of the Pentagon immediately after it was hit (all other photos/videos were confiscated by the FBI)…there are fire trucks next to the wall, the wall was definitely hit by something due to the blown out windows and black smoke, but there is only a 8’-12’ hole in the wall. All subsequent photos in the media showed the wall AFTER it collapsed. The 9/11 commission’s official account said that the plane ‘vaporized’ (no mention of the wings or tail section) and strangely no aircraft parts remained (except for a small plane engine that was not large enough for a 757 and something that looked like a small piece of aluminum foil on the lawn). Yet, the bodies on board somehow survived this ‘vaporization’ and were identified. I’m not making this up…this is the ‘official’ account. In fact, you will not find any current or past investigation (photos, aircraft parts, serial numbers, etc) in the past 3 years regarding the planes used in the 9/11 attacks. When was the last time the NTSB did not attempt to rebuild a crashed plane from the crashed parts to determine the cause of the crash? The fact is….never. Even the majority of parts from TWA flight 800 were recovered from the Atlantic Ocean and reassembled. All of this begs the question….if Flight 77 did not crash into the Pentagon, what happened to the plane and the people on it? There are some very interesting theories out there. I will leave it to you to look into them and I would be glad to give you my opinion if you’re interested. After finding all of this regarding the Pentagon crash, I then moved on to research the World Trade Center buildings.

On 9/11, I was attending a meeting in Auburn, AL. After hearing of the attacks, we watched the drama unfold on CNN like everyone else. After the planes hit, a couple of co-workers started talking about whether or not they would collapse. Having a civil engineering background (part of the code of being an engineer is offering your opinion even when it’s not asked for), I told them that the tops of both buildings might ‘shear off’ and fall due to the impact and resulting cracks/stress caused by the impact, but the majority of the buildings should remain standing. The WTC buildings (as with most tall buildings) were designed to withstand a plane crash into them and are built with center ‘cores’ of extremely strong concrete and steel. To our amazement, 10 minutes later, the south tower collapsed. They not only collapsed, but collapsed in less than 10 seconds….basically a ‘free fall’ collapse. Do you know how many buildings have collapsed due to fire in this manner in world history?....exactly 3. WTC 1, WTC 2 and WTC building 7. A Spanish firm was the first to question the ‘burning fuel’ theory (9/11 commission) since they had a tall building burn for 20 hours the previous year that never collapsed. The South tower collapsed first (after being hit last) in less than an hour. The North tower collapsed a few minutes later. Many experts initially said that it appeared that the towers were professionally demolished…..they then changed their story later on. There are pictures of survivors standing on the floors of the north tower where the plane impacted the building….if fires were raging out of control, they didn’t appear to affect these people.

Something that has never been reported in the mainstream media is that at 5:30pm on 9/11 (hours after the towers collapsed), WTC building 7 completely collapsed. Other WTC buildings closer to the towers did not collapse. Among other offices, it housed the New York offices of the CIA and FBI. Many people (as I now do) believe it was professionally demolished. There are many other problems with the official account of the attacks of 9/11 and many things never reported by our media. Many firefighters reported secondary explosions both below and in the towers prior to their collapse….never reported by the media. The families of the victims have submitted a list of over 20 unanswered questions to the Bush Administration. To date, they have received no response and this has never been discussed in the media. Even with the many unanswered questions concerning 9/11, it is still very difficult for us to believe our government could somehow be involved in this. For me, after waiting over 3 years to think about it, it’s the underlying logical flaws in the events of 9/11 that cause me to believe our government was involved. If you believe the official account of 9/11, then you believe that Arab men learned how to fly Cessna’s (and not well, all of them were poor pilots and one was not even allowed to rent a small plane during the summer of 2001 based on his poor piloting knowledge and skills) which allowed them to expertly pilot and navigate some of the most sophisticated commercial airliners in the world. You also then believe that the most powerful military in the world somehow allowed a commercial airliner to crash into its headquarters 40 minutes after the planes hit the WTC. Are these things logical? The most sophisticated anti-aircraft systems and radar in the world are positioned around Washington D.C. and the Pentagon….all failed on 9/11. Where were the fighters? Good question…..they were delayed for some unknown reason, did not fly at top speed to D.C. and were sent from an air force base miles away when there were bases just a few minutes from D.C. Basically, the entire U.S. military defense system failed completely on 9/11. How many people and departments have been reprimanded for this complete failure? Not one. Not one person or dept has been demoted or reprimanded. I will also point to something that has never been discussed in the mainstream media. George Bush was informed of the attacks and then remained at the Elementary School in Florida for over 25 minutes continuing to read to children and answer questions from reporters. When was the last time that a President was in imminent danger and a potential target and was not immediately removed by the Secret Service to safety? In a Sherlock Holmes novel, the detective was able to determine the killer in the story because a dog did not bark all night during a crime, leading him to believe that the perpetrator had to know the dog. Sometimes it’s what we don’t see or hear that helps us solve mysteries. Did our President and the Secret Service know that he was not in danger? I have obviously left out many details. I invite you to research 9/11 on your own. I have listed a couple of websites and books at the end of the email to get you started if you want to learn the details.

You’re thinking as I did……if many of these things are true, why aren’t they reviewed and talked about in the media? If 9/11 was caused (or allowed) to happen by our government, what is the reason for something this horrific? I simply could not accept the fact that Iraq and Afghanistan were the only reasons. Well, this is where things get interesting. By an odd coincidence (I no longer believe in coincidences…. which I will explain later), I believe that I know the reasons for what we’ve seen. I happen to work with a gentleman who has spent the last 10 years researching secret societies. He and I have had brief discussions over the past 3 years, but I never took his information very seriously….until now. As I began looking into some of the things he told me regarding the objectives of the secret societies active in our world today, one group in particular seems to control almost all other secret societies. The goals of this group are what caught my attention and led to my further research into what they’re doing. Their objectives are eerily similar to what is described in the book of Revelation. This group is commonly known as the Illuminati (other names associated with the Illuminati – Bilderberg, Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, Freemasons and Skull & Bones).
You can search on Google for information on the Illuminati and you’ll find vast amounts of information. I have listed a book at the end of this email that describes their influence over society for the past two hundred years and their future goals. There are a few reasons why I believe they are related to end time events:

1. They are the wealthiest families in the world (that you will never hear about) with the means to accomplish their goals. From what I’ve seen, they are worth trillions and have great control of the world economy. They exert immense control over banking, world finance & media. Some names are Rockefeller, Morgan, Onassis, and Rothschild. Very rich, powerful people.

2. Their #1 priority is bringing about a one world socialist government. It appears that they have been working on this goal for hundreds of years.

3. They appear to be involved with black/white magic and Satanism.

4. Evidence of their influence is everywhere. Our money (the most prominent symbols are on the $1 bill) and our architecture (search for Illuminati symbols & U.S. buildings) are both good places to start researching. Ever wonder what the ‘all seeing’ eye, pyramid and the eagle with 13 stars above it on the $1 represent? Find the pagan owl on our $1 bill. Very interesting.

5. Another interesting fact is that from what I’ve researched, there are only a few American Presidents that were not associated with Secret Societies. Lincoln, Kennedy and Reagan were not members of any secret society and all were shot. There are theories that say Lincoln and Kennedy could have been shot because their policies/views did not coincide with the Illuminati. It’s interesting to note that the Onassis family is one of the original 13 families of the Illuminati. Another interesting story is how George Bush Sr (Skull & Bones) was selected as our VP by Reagan in 1980 after Reagan (on more than one occasion) said publicly that he would not select Bush based on his secret society background. If not for a fraction of an inch, Bush would have become President a couple of months later when Reagan was shot.

6. The U.S. Federal Reserve is a private corporation…..few people know this. From what I can see, families of the Illuminati own large amounts (if not all) of stock in the Fed. Look at the history of the Fed…very interesting. Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law in 1913 and then said, ‘I have unwittingly ruined my country’.

7. In 1995, a game designer with knowledge of the Illuminati created an Illuminati card game. One of the cards showed the WTC towers being destroyed…another card showed the Pentagon on fire. Subsequent cards show disease, famine, terrorist attacks, war….similar to the book of Revelation. By itself, I would view it as a coincidence. It’s very peculiar when added to everything else.

8. From what I’ve read and seen, the Illuminati use the numbers 11 and 13 extensively. It looks like they use the number 11 to communicate to members that they were involved in a particular incident. On Sept 11, 1990, George Bush Sr mentioned ‘A New World Order’ for the first time in a speech to Congress on the Gulf War. 11 years to the day, the WTC was destroyed. The number 11 is all over the WTC attacks (another good topic to research). The Madrid bombings happened on March 11, 2004….911 days after Sept 11, 2001. The Indian attacks in Mumbai were on July 11th of this year. There are other instances of the number 11 in major news events.

It’s interesting to note that both George Bush and John Kerry were members of Skull & Bones. I, like most Americans, have not paid much attention to secret societies such as Skull & Bones, Freemasons and others. From what I’ve read, it appears that the Illuminati now control most, if not all of these societies. If you think it matters whether you voted for Bush or Kerry (both Skull & Bones), my research would tell you it doesn’t matter. We innocently debate among ourselves about conservative versus liberal politics, democrat versus republican, capitalism versus communism…..all the while, the Illuminati are moving their agenda forward with whoever is in power. There is a reason the Soviet Union was dismantled. Gorbachev was the first world leader to mention a ‘New World Order’ in a public speech. The Berlin wall came tumbling down soon thereafter. If the Illuminati are as powerful as some researchers indicate, I began to search for mention of them in the Bible. I reasoned that if they are the ones who bring about a one world government and the Antichrist, there is a good possibility that they are mentioned in the Bible. I began to read the Bible extensively (which is what I should have been doing my entire life). Late one night I came across 2nd Thessalonians Chapter 2 Verse 7-8: ‘For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed (Antichrist), whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.’ Does it confirm the work of secret societies? I’m not sure, but I find it interesting that God chose the words ‘secret’ and ‘lawlessness’ in this verse while the Antichrist is referred to as the ‘man of lawlessness’ in the Bible.

I recently read a Christian author who said that God speaks to us through the circumstances of our life….if we would only listen. Before now, I had always incorrectly believed that God was in Heaven, we were on Earth and that God sometimes intervened in our life through prayer. I now know that God is with us always, is everywhere, loves us and is definitely communicating through the circumstances of our lives. I have had many examples of God answering my prayers over the past 2 months through many different circumstances. It really has been amazing. I began to pray regularly soon after researching 9/11 and the Illuminati due to the many obvious questions. Is this true? If it is true, why am I now discovering all of this? Why is this happening now? What should I do with this information? Initially, I was concerned with whether the Illuminati were as powerful as I was led to believe. I prayed for an answer to this question and received my answer a few days later. Through many different circumstances, I ended up in a building designed and built by the Illuminati. The fact that I ended up in this building was pure chance (or so I thought). As I began to realize the significance of what I was seeing, it dawned on me. God was providing my answer in a very dramatic way to finally get my attention. There is only one word to describe this experience: POWERFUL. At one point I re-entered the building after everyone else had left to take a second look at the images and writings in the building (because at the time I was having a hard time believing what I was seeing). There was no doubt that the building was built by the Illuminati and the future purpose of the building also became clear to me (the building was constructed in the 1920’s). As I stated before, this is one of many circumstances where God has shown me answers to my many questions. After 34 years of minimal prayer and worship, I can honestly say after the past 2 months that there is nothing in this world that cannot be accomplished by praying to our Heavenly Father.

So, after weeks of research and long nights, the final question became…what do I do with this information? What will other people think? I spoke to my pastor about this and received the exact same answer as I received from my prayers…Prepare. We can’t stop it, so we must be prepared spiritually first and foremost, and ensure that others are prepared. Jesus tells us that these things must happen, but not to worry. I just never thought that I would see them unfold during my lifetime. My student Bible makes an important statement that we all forget at times: ‘As Christians, we must never forget that there is an ongoing behind the scenes battle of good versus evil.’ We must always remember that Satan is at work in the world and through God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, it is our duty to fight against evil. I have sat on the sidelines over the course of my life and watched others become actively involved in working for Christ while I did very little. I believe that I (and now you) have been given this message as a way to get us in the game. God has shown me what is really important in this life and I am making changes because of it. If you haven’t already, my hope is that you will do the same.

The final piece of this is….. what does the future bring and how do I prepare for it? This is difficult to communicate, but I believe we are going to see another ‘Terrorist’ event later this year. Unfortunately, I believe it’s potentially going to involve multiple U.S. cities and make us forget 9/11. Why do I believe this? There are a couple of reasons, and I would be glad to share them with you, for now I will simply say that there are signs. The reason for these ‘events’ is simple….the powers controlling this will use fear to further reduce freedoms and liberties throughout the free world. Currently, the world is being kept in a constant state of fear…terror alerts, bombings, plane crashes….we are constantly bombarded with worry. This is referred to in the Bible. If you haven’t read the Patriot Act, I would encourage you to do so. Many ‘temporary’ provisions of the Act were made permanent by Congress…with little notice from our media. As for day to day preparation, Karen and I are moving everything out of the stock market. I’m still working on this, but precious metals do well during times of uncertainty, so we’re moving a significant % of our savings into gold. I realize these things may sound strange, but the time will come very soon when we cannot depend on past ‘trends’, stock market or otherwise. I continue to pray for guidance and ask that you do the same.

I have no doubt that some of us are ready and have been ready for whatever comes our way. I will tell you that after much soul-searching, I was not ready for any of this. By ready, I mean a true belief that Jesus Christ died for me and the commitment of my life to him. As my brother and I have discussed, simply believing Jesus Christ died on the Cross is not enough. We must live our lives according to His will and commit ourselves to Him for the glory of God and our own salvation. Like most people, I went to Church on Sunday when it was convenient for me (and I wasn’t too tired), rarely prayed and gave to the Church whatever I didn’t spend in a given month. I then wondered why I never had a close relationship with God. It seems so simple now. I will admit that all of the things I have recently discovered initially depressed me. It’s not easy for good people to accept that evil is very powerful and can affect world leaders and world events. The Bible tells us that we cannot defend ourselves against Satan without God on our side. Ephesians Chapter 6 Verses 10:20 ‘Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the Devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.’ Amen! Whether we choose to believe it or not, there is spiritual warfare being waged in our world. All of the things in this world that distract us from what’s important, who do you think is behind it? Without the armor of God, you are on the field of battle with nothing to protect yourself. A year ago I will admit that I was scared and fearful after learning these things. Now I fear nothing in this world….and you will feel the same through your relationship with God. As my pastor said while we were discussing this, ‘Bring it on! I’m ready.’

Why was I depressed about these things I have learned? …because I love this world, I love my family, I loved my life and because of the society that I live in, I forgot one of the most important things we must never forget as Christians, that this life is simply a brief stopover before our true life in eternity begins. As Christians, we must separate ourselves from the world and the things in it. Not easy to do. Why do Jesus and His Disciples warn us time and again about the many temptations that Satan will throw at us? Because Jesus knows that it is difficult for us. Matthew Chapter 13 Verses 13:14 ‘Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.’ Jesus is telling us that we must believe in and follow Him to receive eternal life and God’s purpose for us in this life. I will say that although I know all of these things are coming to pass, I have never experienced the peace that I now enjoy. It’s amazing how wonderful life is when you are released from the worries of this world and are able to place your life in His hands. Jesus told us that He is the Truth and the Truth will set you free from this world. I won’t lie to you, when you’re looking out over the edge of the precipice, it takes true faith to step out and know that God is going to catch you. My reason for sending this to you is the sincere hope that you are prepared for what is to come if you are a Christian, or like myself, find the faith that will lead you to truly believe that Jesus Christ died and was resurrected by the grace of God, so that you can have eternal life. He is, after all, the savior of this world! We will go through some tough times ahead, but we have God and each other to help us through. Best of all, the good guys win!
You are wondering if what I’m telling you is true. I assure you that it is. Remember, I’m just the messenger.

A couple of books that I have read that provide thorough information on these topics. There are many others as well.

‘Rule by Secrecy’ – Jim Marrs
‘Inside Job - Unraveling the 9/11 conspiracies’ – Jim Marrs
Couple of websites relating to 9/11:
Reopen911.org
911Truth.org

As I mentioned in the first letter, when you pray for guidance and knowledge, God will answer your prayers and in my case, he isn’t wasting any time. You may be wondering whether I have, in fact, gone off the deep end and you may also be wondering why I am sending another letter to you. In this respect, nothing has changed over the past 3 weeks – God is leading me where I need to go and what I need to do. It’s that simple. He has given me additional knowledge and He has also asked that I give this information to each of you. You are probably wondering how God is communicating to me (and rightfully so). I have said before that I believe God communicates to all of us through the circumstances of our lives if we would only listen. I have been listening as well as I know how (with some help from local Pastors) and have discovered something that is truly amazing to me. He knows our strengths and our talents and uses these for not only His will on Earth when we choose to follow Him, but He also uses our strengths to further His communication with us. In my case, God is using His Word, His inner voice, numbers, circumstances and my interest in solving problems to give me information that I need to know. I have gained greater knowledge as I have solved the problems that He has presented to me. I realize that this may sound strange to some of you, others may know much more about this than I do. I can only say that it is a wonderful feeling when you realize that God is talking directly to you through the Holy Spirit and using you and your talents for His will. Another question that you are probably pondering is ‘Why is He giving this information to John?’ Believe me, I have prayed for an answer to this question. The answer is simple. When we choose to follow God’s plan for our lives, He will use our talents and abilities for His will. When I chose to turn my life over to him, He began to give me my true purpose in this life. I have realized in recent weeks that He has been leading me to where I am my entire life. I’m only now understanding this, which I will explain later in this letter. I will also say that other people are getting the same message that I am. Where will this lead my family and me? I honestly don’t know. I will say that while I know we are about to face some difficult times, it is very exciting to know that we are now on the path that God has planned for us. For Karen, our family, and myself the adventure has only just started. He has a plan for all of us; it’s up to each of us to choose to accept His offer of salvation through his Son, obey Him and follow His will for us.

Here’s where I need to give you another warning about the contents you are about to read. We (Americans) are about to face the most difficult times our nation has ever encountered. Since we need to stay grounded in the Word of God, please remember the following scriptures as you read the remainder of this letter:

‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, “We will not walk in it.” –Jeremiah 6:16

‘I appointed watchmen over you and said, “Listen to the sound of the trumpet!” But you said, “We will not listen.” –Jeremiah 6:17

‘The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’ – Ezekiel 33:1-6

I was neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people.” – Amos 7:14-15

I believe that God is giving me a warning to give to you and anyone who will listen. He has shown our nation mercy in recent decades, but I believe that His protection of our nation has ended. What happens when a nation falls away from God? God removes his protection and the powers of Satan have free reign. Could 9/11 and recent climate/weather changes be signals to us that He is removing his protection in an effort to get our nation to repent? Is it a coincidence that our weather seems to be more unpredictable and definitely more intense? You may be thinking to yourself, ‘But we’re the good guys! There are millions of good people in this country!’ If you use this world’s idea of good and evil as your baseline, you would be able to make an argument that we’re living in a good nation. If you look at the U.S. through God’s eyes, you see our nation from a much different perspective.

I don’t believe anyone would disagree that our nation’s Godliness and moral standards are declining. Since 1973, it is estimated that the U.S. has performed over 47 million abortions. Think about that number for a minute. 47,000,000. 47 million Americans who never got a chance in this life. 47 million of God’s children who never got a chance to do His will in this world. We are slowly removing God from our government, our schools and the offices where we work (there is now a movement to remove God from our money) all in the name of ‘political correctness’ or to prevent people from being ‘offended’. Pornagraphy is now a $10 billion dollar business in this country and continues to grow. If it’s not right in God’s eyes, it shouldn’t be right in ours. I now view the world and the issues in it by God’s word and His word alone. It doesn’t matter how you phrase it, if it goes against God’s word, it goes against God’s word. We haven’t learned from the history lessons in the Bible that tell us what happens to nations that do not follow God’s word. We talk a good talk in America, but as a nation, we are ignoring His will for us. Casinos and lotteries have been built and implemented in many states. Studies have shown repeatedly that the poorest people in our country play lotteries. We recently implemented a state lottery in Tennessee after churches fought against it. The CEO of the TN lottery is a multi-millionaire. The next time you’re in a convenience store, take note of the people who are funding her salary. Jesus warned us against taking advantage of the poor. We are the wealthiest nation on Earth and many of us live in luxury, yet we strive for more power and wealth while billions of people across the globe would be happy simply to know that they were going to have something to eat each day. What was the number one topic Jesus spoke of in His gospels? Money.

This all leads me to this. I believe that the ‘terrorist’ event I mentioned in my first letter will occur on November 11th of this year. I believe that it will involve multiple cities, and I strongly believe that Las Vegas will be one of the cities affected by this event [a few weeks later I felt that the Lord also communicated that San Francisco, Washington D.C., New York and Atlanta would also be affected]. Why do I believe that November 11th is the day? It’s been an interesting journey. I realize this requires a large amount of faith, so hang in there with me. For the past 15 years I have seen 11:11 everywhere and often. I initially began to see it on digital clocks and thought I was subconsciously looking at clocks at that time in the afternoon or at night. I then began seeing it on trip mileage, phone numbers, billboards, ID’s, etc. After the first few years of seeing it over and over, I began to experience some apprehension each year as November 11th approached. I had no reason to believe that the date was related to what I was experiencing, but I felt as though I was being sent a message, but could not understand it. Karen and I met with our neighbor Krista (who was our physician’s assistant for our OB/GYN) early last year to learn the due date of our son Jake. As Krista was calculating the date, I half jokingly said, ‘It better not be November 11.’ Her response after finishing her calculation was ‘How did you know?’

When the Internet was created, I discovered that 11:11 is a worldwide phenomenon. Thousands (if not millions) of people around the globe have experienced the same thing. There are websites dedicated to this and they’re even making a movie about it this year. So, seeing 11:11 became part of my life and while I would mention it to people on occasion, I stopped thinking that it was a message. That is, I stopped thinking about it until I started researching the Illuminati earlier this year. When I discovered that the Illuminati used the number 11 in events to communicate to its members, I suddenly became very interested again in 11:11. If you question this, research the number 11 and 9/11/01. I believe you will be amazed at what you find. There is some very interesting math involved with November 11 of this year. 9/11/2001 has one 11 in the date. 3/11/2004 (Madrid bombings) has two eleven’s (3+1+1+2+4 = 11). 11/11/2005 has 3 eleven’s (1+1+1+1+2+5 = 11). There are 911 days between 9/11/2001 and 3/11/2004. There are 611 days between 3/11/2004 and 11/11/2005. The difference between previous years and this year? Never in our lives has the month, day and year on November 11th added up to 11. Earlier this year my brother Charlie and I were discussing these things. At the end of the conversation he asked ‘Do you ever see the number 11:11?’. It turns out that we both started seeing it in the early 90’s. The difference was that until this conversation, he only saw 11:11 on digital clocks. After telling him that I see it everywhere in addition to digital clocks, he paused for a few seconds and asked me if I was watching the British Open (golf). When I told him that I had it on, he told me to look at the leader board. I turned around and saw that Tiger Woods was eleven under par on the eleventh hole. In July, Karen and I both started seeing 5:42 and 5:24 on digital clocks as well as 11:11. I can understand if you are skeptical. I realize it sounds unbelievable. If you haven’t taken the time to research the Illuminati, doing so will remove some of your doubt. I have had the thought for some time that if I ever figured out what 11:11 meant, I would stop seeing it. I can honestly say I haven’t seen it in over a month. Could I be wrong? Absolutely. It is entirely possible that I could be misinterpreting God’s message for me. It is also very possible through prayer, that we can delay or stop what is happening in our world. When evil attacks us, we should always pray to God for assistance and intervention. I pray that we will be protected from what is to come, but I will also say that I am making plans in the event something does happen.

Why Vegas? One night the power went out in our home and the alarm clock in our bedroom needed to be reset. I left my watch downstairs, so I opened the top drawer of my dresser to get the time off another watch. As I was reaching into the drawer, I noticed a luggage tag next to my watch…..for some reason I flipped it over. It was from a company trip in 2003 to Las Vegas. I wasn’t sure why I flipped it over…then realized that I had been praying for greater knowledge of coming events. Could this be an answer? I laid on my bed thinking about this for a few minutes and again, without really thinking about it, turned my head and looked directly at a photo on my end table of the same trip. It was a photo of me, Karen and Olivia (2 months old) on the Gondola ride in the Venetian. I have to admit; at this point I was thinking coincidence all the way. I studied the photo for a few minutes, and not seeing anything significant, started to place the photo back on the table when something told me to take the photo out of the frame. I did so. In the bottom left-hand corner of the photo was the date of the photo and a photo number: 3/12/2003 11-3.jpg. Add up the numbers in the date. Coincidence?

Even if you don’t quite believe what I’m saying about God and the information he has given me, take a moment and look at our nation from an economist’s point of view. Our country has a national debt approaching 8 trillion dollars. That’s Trillion with a T. The average American household has over $12,000 in credit card and other revolving credit debt. Housing prices have increased dramatically in the past 5 years (doubled in many areas) leading many Americans to use the equity in their homes to finance spending while losing site of the fact that our houses are only worth something when they sell. The world economy simply cannot sustain itself unless the U.S. stops spending and starts saving and the rest of the world does the reverse. If our economy tanks, the world economy is going to suffer greatly. Foreign countries now own over 45% of our national debt. If they stop buying our treasuries, the party’s over for us. No more cheap credit. If you read the news closely, many economists are saying that America’s debt is now something to be concerned about over time, but as long as we don’t have another major hurricane disaster or ‘terrorist’ event, the economy will continue to grow. There are an increasing number of articles and publications warning about America’s debt. The warning signs are all around us. I recently read in the Wall Street Journal where a well known economist uses 10 metrics to determine if a country’s economy is on a ‘bubble’ and at risk for a significant ‘correction’. The author said that America’s economy qualifies as being on a ‘bubble’ on 8 of them. The problem is that we continue to wrongly believe that the good life will continue regardless of the signs around us and our nation’s separation from God. I realize this seems like a lot of gloom and doom, but I feel as though we are asleep at the wheel and need to be awakened! There are many Christian writers who are sounding the alarm, but are not loud enough. We are being quieted by ‘political correctness’ and a lack of conviction.

I mentioned in the first letter what Karen and I are doing in preparation for coming events. Here are a few more details. I realize that a large amount of faith is required to do what I’m doing. I’ve prayed about what to do and these were my answers. I ask that you pray for guidance as well.

1. I am getting out of the stock market completely. There are no ‘safe’ stocks during times of crisis. Simply get out of the market altogether.
2. Since my 401(k) plan does not offer anything other than stocks and a few bond funds, I’m taking the money out, paying the tax penalty and putting the money in something safe (not spending it!). If your 401(k) has investments that are not stock/bond related and carries no risk (guaranteed interest investments), I suppose that would be fine. If you aren’t changing jobs and can’t take your money out and you don’t have safe options, I would suggest that you take a 401(k) loan for the maximum amount allowable and move it to something safe. Better to have the money in something safe and pay yourself back each month, than lose a significant amount of your savings when the stock market falls.
3. Instead of stocks, I’m in a fund that tracks the price of Gold. If you’re interested the fund is ISHARES COMEX GOLD TR. Symbol – IAU (It’s up $14/share since I bought it last year). I’m sure there are others. Be aware that many ‘funds’ include Gold, but many other investments as well. Be sure that you know everything that a fund invests in.
4. Similar to most areas, home values in Knoxville have skyrocketed in the past 2 years. If you are comfortable with your mortgage, I see no reason to sell your home unless you need the equity to get free of debt. As always, this is something to pray about. Many Americans have taken out multiple mortgages or ‘interest-only’ loans to finance spending and other things…with the hope that housing prices continue to rise. If you’re in a similar situation, now would be a great time to sell and downsize or rent. Use the funds to pay down your debt or invest in something that is much less risky. It’s also a great time to lock in a fixed rate mortgage if you have any type of an adjustable rate mortgage or ARM.
5. Have more cash on hand than usual.
6. Make sacrifices now to get out of debt. Everyone’s goal should be to become debt free (other than a mortgage) as soon as possible. Not only does debt place stress on you and your family (Satan loves to place stress and uncertainty in your life); it prevents you from doing everything God asks you to do. There have been many times in my life where my Church needed additional funds for the general budget, to help a family, to support a new mission….and I couldn’t contribute due to my spending and debt. This world tells you that you need a new car (Employee discount!), that you need a bigger home (Interest only mortgages!); go shopping (low credit card rates! – free T-Shirt!) and that you deserve all of these things. God tells us that we need clothing, a roof over our head and food to eat. He will take care of everything for us when we give our lives and finances over to him. Dave Ramsey provides excellent guidance for setting a budget and getting out of debt. If you need help, he is a great source for financial planning.
7. I’m going to stock up on the basics – water, non-perishable food, fuel, etc.

Another topic that I feel I need to reference relates to spiritual warfare. The best way for me to communicate this is through my own experiences. Before I was a Christian, Satan for the most part left me alone. He tempted me with wealth, pursuit of money, new stuff to keep me in debt, etc. to keep my focus on things other than my own salvation and to keep me off God’s plan for my life, but he did not aggressively attack me. Once we become Christians, we have chosen God and chosen to fight Satan and his evil purposes in this world. As many of you know, this is the greatest experience up to this point in your life! Although this is truly a wonderful, life changing event in our lives, we must never forget that once we have chosen to serve God and are saved, we become a target of Satan and evil in this world. I believe that Satan takes a special interest in new Christians. We haven’t matured spiritually yet, so we are vulnerable to attack. Satan knows that as we become more mature both in our spiritual relationship with God, His word, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ, the more protected and prepared we are when faced with Satan’s temptations and attacks. The final piece of this is that once a Christian begins to follow God’s plan and begins attacking evil and spreading God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ, Satan does not take our aggression lying down, evil fights back. How do I know this? Because I have experienced all of these things over the past year. I have had doubts placed in my mind about the things that I’m doing. Are you sure God wants you to do this? What if you’re wrong? No one wants to hear these things! People want good news, not bad, so go back to the sidelines and get out of the game! Wasn’t your life easier before you began getting involved with these things? Why bother? Are you sure you’re saved? Would you be having these thoughts if you were saved? You’re using Scripture, are you sure that you are using it correctly? The Bible was written by men, how do you know that the Bible was inspired by God? Anything and everything has been thrown at me in an attempt to separate me from Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father. Only through the Holy Spirit can we hope to resist these attacks. At first, unbeknownst to me, God began preparing me for this. He has guided me to a local ministry that is focused on the intensifying spiritual warfare being waged in our world. Their Pastor (Mike McClung) has created a series of CD’s on spiritual warfare that I listen to everyday (www.lionheartministries.org). If you want to learn more about God’s word, the Christian faith and spiritual warfare, I highly recommend that you order his CD’s.

I mentioned that God has used the circumstances in my life to communicate to me and to place me in positions where He needed me. The other side of this is that Satan has used non-believers to try to prevent me from doing what God has asked me to do. As I continue to do God’s work through my job, I have noticed that something, very quietly (for now) is objecting. Here’s an example. I’m a General Manager of a broadband company in Knoxville. On our cable systems throughout the Southeast, we provide the Playboy channel among other ‘Adult’ channels. The Playboy Channel recently sent our Ad Sales department in Knoxville a 30 second promotional commercial for their ‘Adult’ content. It just so happens that this is the first year that I have had control over the advertising shown on my system in Knoxville. I refused to broadcast the promotion. I believe my exact words were ‘drive over the tape with your car.’ Our marketing department objected. I refused. I was then told ‘we have a contractual obligation, every other division is showing it, it’s ‘tastefully’ done, we’re showing it after 10pm, etc, etc’. I refused. More reasons were thrown at me. I finally told them that as long as I was running this division, we were never going to promote pornography again….and that’s exactly what we were doing – promoting pornography. This must have made the point more clearly, because I was never contacted again.

Two weeks later our marketing department sent direct mail to every one of our digital customers explaining how to set parental controls on their digital boxes to prevent anyone other than adults from viewing ‘adult’ films. This is a good example of how spiritual warfare is waged. Stand up for God and He will make great things happen through you. Once you have done the little things for Him, He will give you much bigger things to do. I met with our CEO and Vice Presidents on Friday of last week to discuss removing ‘adult’ content from not only our system in Knoxville, but all of our systems in the Southeast. We discussed this for over an hour before they promised me that they are going to give the decision serious thought. What will our CEO decide? If he listens to God, we will remove this programming from our systems….and how nice would it be for a cable company to actually move in the right direction when it comes to this content. If we remove it and customers choose us instead of our competition because of it, will it put pressure on our much larger competitors to do the same? Here’s a summary of the thoughts running through my mind at the moment I was going to initiate this conversation with our CEO….Don’t do it! Lost revenue! Lost customers! You can’t force your values on other adults! …and I almost didn’t say anything. In the end, I asked myself ‘What would Jesus Christ do in this situation?’ The answer is that Jesus attacked evil at every opportunity…so I asked Jesus to help me and give me the courage I needed. The doubt and questions ran away and I initiated the conversation. We’re not asked to fight alone. In fact, God warns us against it. These things may seem like coincidences, I assure you they are not. Spiritual warfare can be very quiet, hardly noticeable. Other times it can be very obvious. On Monday of this week I received an email from our marketing department that we are increasing the price of our Adult movies. More revenue! The battle continues.

As I have started to do more and more for God through my job and our community, I began to think that it wouldn’t surprise me if Satan tried to take me out of my organization. I was now using my position of influence to rebel against the flow of this world and do what God was asking me to do. After thinking about this for awhile, I realized that evil already tried to take me out. A few months ago I planned to promote a very good, dedicated employee to a supervisor position. He has always worked very hard and deserved the promotion. Before I offered him the position, unbeknownst to me, he received a speeding ticket. Instead of paying the ticket and moving on, he decided to contact a powerful political figure in Knoxville (who I knew personally) to fix it for him. This person said sure, he’d take care of it for him…he knew the judge. To show his gratitude, my employee took this person out to dinner…a very expensive dinner (as much or more than the cost of the ticket). A couple of weeks after the ticket was ‘taken care of’, the political figure called to tell me he heard that I was considering this person for the supervisor position. He then proceeded to tell me that this employee had him fix a DUI ticket that he received in a company truck and that under no circumstances should the employee receive the promotion (he probably had someone else in mind). I told him that I appreciated the information and I would talk to the employee about it. After talking to the employee and determining that it was simply a speeding ticket in his own vehicle, I called the political figure and told him that the employee would receive the promotion since it was only a speeding ticket. This person went ballistic and demanded that I not promote him. I refused and promoted him anyway. This person then spoke to a Vice President of our company and demanded that they fire me and two of my managers due to the poor performance of our division (we perform very well). Three executives initially agreed that there could be a problem and something should probably be done. Our VP of Operations, after being informed of this, rebuked all of them in front of our CEO….adamantly. Our CEO sided with him and has banned one of the executives from ever returning to Knoxville and any contact with the politician. This is a very good example of how Satan works. He didn’t ask our CEO to fire me; he simply placed a thought in an employee’s mind…’it’s only a speeding ticket, no one will ever know.’ A short term gain (that’s not really a gain at all) turns into something much worse. Satan will never tell you the long term consequences of your actions. Evil does the same thing with alcohol, drugs, embezzlement, etc. It almost always starts small and then mushrooms out of control. Enron and WorldCom come to mind. ‘You’ll be rich and no one will ever know.’ Ask Bernie Ebbers how that turned out for him. He’s going to die in jail. I didn’t understand why other managers were included at the time. I do now. Both are moving in the right direction spiritually and are being prepared by our Father for greater things. The other side knows this. It wasn’t our time to leave our company, so we stayed. Never forget that God is in complete control. When it’s time for us to leave, it will be God’s will.

God works in our lives everyday. The difference for me is that I can see it now. In my position, many charities ask me for company donations. In the past, as with most corporations, I have only donated to charities where my company received something in return….sponsorship, publicity, etc. Over the past 4 years, a local charity has asked me many times for a donation and each time I have refused because I didn’t feel that our company received anything for the donation (cold – but that’s life in corporate America). A few weeks ago I received another letter from this charity (SMA - Families with Spinal Muscular Atrophy). For once, I decided to actually read the letter. I learned that this is a life threatening disease that affects children. Many children die from the disease before the age of 5. I decided that it was time to send a check. So, I sent them some money and thought nothing more about it. Three days later I received a voicemail message from the director of the charity. I could tell she had been crying, she said ‘Mr. Gilmore, I just wanted to let you know how much we appreciate your donation. We received a letter today from a poor family in Knoxville who just lost their 4 year old daughter to this disease. They needed some financial help with the funeral and we had none to give. In the same stack of mail we received their letter, we received your donation that allowed us to help them. It was a miracle. God bless you.’ In the same stack of mail. I had to close my office door for awhile to compose myself. I cannot imagine the anguish that these people felt losing a child. God knows and provided for them. He has taught me much over the past 2 months. Sometimes the lessons are easy, other times they are very difficult. In this case it was this….you don’t need to gain ANYTHING for yourself to help others. Jesus taught us that if we’re asked for something, give it. Selfishness will destroy us spiritually if we let it.

One last story. A few weeks ago our General Manager in Columbus, GA (a good friend of mine) and I were discussing how God was working in our lives. He mentioned that he was made aware of a little girl who had a terminal disease and did not have long to live. He was told that she loved a certain country singer (not one of the top artists). Through his contacts he was able to get a guitar signed by this artist and give it to the little girl. He went on with his life and didn’t think much more about it. The guitar and the autograph were not worth much and he was glad to help. She died a few weeks later. My friend later found out that she loved the guitar so much, she asked that it be placed next to her coffin at the funeral. We don’t know how our actions truly affect others, but God knows. He loves each and every one of us. Through my friend, He gave the little girl much happiness before she left this world to be with Him.

The important thing is that God has opened my eyes to this ongoing warfare. We need the Holy Spirit in order to see it and discern what is right. It has not been easy to get the strength to write about these things and then send it to everyone I know. There is one reason that I have been able to overcome all of my doubt. That reason is God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We are human beings. The Bible teaches us that we cannot take on Satan alone. We will fail without God’s power on our side. Have you ever given in to temptation, only to have that decision cause you pain? With His power, we can overcome everything that the devil throws at us. Without Him, we are vulnerable to evil and will ultimately fail to resist. Satan does not want me sending these letters and he doesn’t want you to read them. Since he has failed to stop me, he will create doubt in your minds. Don’t listen, Gilmore’s losing his mind, the stock market will remain stable, Homeland Security will protect us…I can hear it all now. Evil would much prefer that you are kept in the dark and will therefore, be fearful and alone when faced with what’s coming. I recently purchased a very good book on our adversary and what he is capable of doing. I have listed it below if you are interested. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard ‘If I’m just a good person I’ll be in Heaven some day’ or ‘I believe in God, but I’m not so sure about Jesus Christ’. We all have evil thoughts at times and they are the work of our adversary. The devil is relentless in his attack on our relationship with God and Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ sealed the devil’s fate…..so the devil will do whatever he can to separate us from Christ. It’s very important that we learn how to fight back.

What does all this mean? From my own experiences, I can see this warfare intensifying and it’s going to continue to intensify. If you’ve been in the battle, I commend you. If you’re like me up until a few months ago, it’s time to get in the game. It’s time to place God #1 in your life. I know what it’s like to place God #4 on my list of priorities versus #1! If you want to find true happiness, love and satisfaction in this life, move Him to #1. I will be glad to help you in any way I can.

You probably noticed that I haven’t written much about 9/11 conspiracies or the Illuminati in this letter. The reason is that now they simply don’t concern me as much. I am more concerned with following God’s plan for me and my family. He will take care of the rest. The important thing is that we are prepared spiritually for what’s coming through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I continue to pray for our country and for all of you.

I always recommend a good study Bible to those that ask me for reading material, but if you’re interested in a couple of good books outside of the Bible relating to what I’m writing about, here are a couple:

‘The American Prophecies’ by Michael D. Evans
‘When the Enemy Strikes’ by Charles Stanley
‘A Modern Prophesy’ by John Tunstall

God Bless.

In 2004, 4 major hurricanes hit the state of Florida. The city of New Orleans was destroyed by a hurricane in 2005. Drought conditions seem to be worsening each year throughout the United States. Wildfires are increasing in regularity throughout the western U.S. Thunderstorms and tornadoes now develop well into November. In October and November 2005, tornadoes ripped across the Midwest causing extensive damage in Indiana and Kentucky. Summer heat waves are becoming the norm as global temperatures continue to rise. The last decade has been the hottest on record for the world. The following article appeared today, December 3, 2006, on the Reuters news wire:

I’ve seen a documentary showing how polar bear populations are declining in the northern Arctic due to thawing ice. Glaciers the world over are now receding at levels that are unprecedented in modern times. The strongest Hurricane ever recorded (Wilma) formed in 2005. Whether or not you believe in global warming, something is definitely changing within our world. If you’re like me, you get an uneasy feeling about what the future holds for us. What, exactly, is going on with our climate?

Have you noticed that as our world’s political climate seems less stable (terrorism, wars, etc), the world’s weather also seems less stable? The world will tell you that there is no way the two are related. Weather is weather, and people will be people. How can the weather be, in any way, related to the overall instability of the world? If you look at the world and our weather through natural, worldly eyes – you will never see a correlation. Look at the weather and the world through spiritual eyes – sight given to you through God’s power, and you begin to see a definite correlation. Once again, you must read the Lord’s Word and you must pray to receive true knowledge and wisdom. Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about God’s warnings and what His Word says about weather during the last days.

Does the Bible tell us that God warns before judgment? Yes. The following is Chapter 4 from the Book of Amos.

‘Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, "Bring us some drinks!" The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his holiness: "The time will surely come when you will be taken away with hooks, the last of you with fishhooks. You will each go straight out through breaks in the wall, and you will be cast out toward Harmon," declares the LORD. "Go to Bethel and sin; go to Gilgal and sin yet more. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three years. Burn leavened bread as a thank offering and brag about your freewill offerings— boast about them, you Israelites, for this is what you love to do," declares the Sovereign LORD. ……"I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up. People staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink, yet you have not returned to me," declares the LORD. "Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards, I struck them with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me," declares the LORD.…..He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth— the LORD God Almighty is his name.’ (Amos Chapter 4)

This chapter begins with the Lord describing many of the women of Israel. They were rich, reveled in drunkenness and oppressed the poor. They were not living according to the Word and Laws of the Lord. They offered sacrifices to the Lord and occasionally gave tithes – and bragged about it. The Lord is telling us that these meant nothing to Him because they were living lives of sin, pride and arrogance. They took pleasure in sin and boasted about their religious devotion in front of men. They continued to sin against God even after numerous warnings from the Lord. After Israel was conquered, Assyrian pictures engraved on stone portray prisoners being led away with ropes tied to hooks in their nose or lips. The wealthy women of Israel’s capital were led away in judgment like cattle. These words ring true for us today. This chapter in Amos shows us that the Lord will use weather to warn a nation to return to Him. I believe that He is using it to warn the United States and I believe that He’s using it to tell the world that the end of this evil age is upon us.

In Mathew, Chapter 16, I believe that Jesus gives us a clue as to how to read the times in which we live:

‘The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Jesus then left them and went away.’ (Mathew 16:2-4)

Jesus is obviously speaking to the fact that the Pharisees could not see that He was the Son of God. Although they were good at predicting the weather, they could not interpret the times in which they lived. Because they were not close to God, they could not see where they were on God’s timetable and His plan for salvation. They were speaking directly to God and couldn’t see it. This certainly applies to us today. With all of our technological advances, we know more about the natural world than ever before, but we’re still blind to the times in which we live. I believe that the clue to us in this message is Christ’s mention of the weather to the Pharisees, His mention of a ‘miraculous sign’ and most importantly, His mention of Jonah. Many attribute Jesus’ reference to Jonah to mean that He would be crucified and resurrected on the 3rd day, in the same way that Jonah spent 3 days in the belly of a whale. This is certainly true, but I believe there is more to His reference to Jonah. Other than the three days that Jonah spent in the whale, what is another sign mentioned in this Book? A storm.

‘The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD. Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish." Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?" He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land." This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.) The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?" "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you." Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried to the LORD, "O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased." Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him. But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.’ (Jonah Chapter 1)

So, Jonah was running from the Lord (rebelling) and the Lord used a storm to turn him around. Meteorologists will tell you that the increasing number and strength of hurricanes in recent years is cyclical. The U.S. is simply experiencing a cyclical ‘upswing’ in the number of hurricanes hitting its shores. At the same time, we seem to be getting hit with an increasing number of wildfires, torrential rains, floods and severe thunderstorms (with devastating tornadoes) that now extend into November. At the same time that our weather is becoming more intense, we’re facing an enemy that we can’t fight effectively. The ‘war on terror’ has no end in sight. Our leaders tell us it may never end. The war in Iraq is getting worse with no end in sight. What about our economy? It seems that the stock market and our economy are going along just fine. Are they? How long can we sustain a 9 trillion dollar deficit before the bubble bursts? If you read the Old Testament, there is one thing that always seems to precede the Lord’s judgment – prosperity. So, at the same time as our weather seems to be getting more unstable, the world’s political landscape also seems to be much more unstable.

The story of Jonah also tells us that even though the Lord may pronounce judgment, a city or nation can repent and be spared His wrath. ‘The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.’ (Jonah 3:5). ‘When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened’ (Jonah 3:10). The question we need to ask is this – does our nation realize that it needs to repent and return to God? Is it asking for forgiveness? It doesn’t take much contemplation to realize that the answer to both questions is no.

How many times do we hear someone today asking for a sign from God? His signs are all around us, but you’ll never see them unless you believe in Jesus, pray for wisdom and come close to the Lord. God’s warnings are not limited to the political instability in our world. They extend to everything in the world, including our weather. I believe that both the stability of the nations in our world and our climate will continue to deteriorate as we near the end of this age.

Let’s take a look at some instances where I believe the U.S. has definitely been warned. John McTernan published a book in 2001 entitled God’s Final Warning to America. John has done extensive research into natural disasters, financial collapses and how they relate to how America has turned away from God. I am only going to list a few examples here from John’s book.

1. On Thursday, September 21, 1989, the Washington Post had a front-page article about Hurricane Hugo approaching the United States. The Hurricane was expected to make landfall on Friday (the next day). The Washington Post also had another front page article on September 21st relating to abortion. This article said that the Bush administration only had until Friday (the next day) to make oral arguments before the Supreme Court in the Hodgson vs. Minnesota case. The oral argument was for the possibility of overturning Roe vs. Wade. The oral argument was never made and Roe vs. Wade was not overturned. On Friday, September 22, 1989, Hurricane Hugo slammed into Charleston, South Carolina, causing tremendous damage to the city and the entire state.
2. On June 28, 1992, hundreds of thousands of homosexuals and their supporters attended national Gay Pride day parades across America. On the very morning of Gay Pride day, the fourth and ninth most powerful earthquakes this century in the U.S. hit southern California. These quakes were so powerful, their effects were felt as far away as Idaho. The Los Angeles Times actually reported that the marchers had to brave the earthquakes to get to the Gay Pride day parade.
3. During the late winter and early spring of 1993, heavy rains fell on the Midwest. The Mississippi and Missouri rivers rose and approached flood stage. By mid-June the rivers were at flood stage. On June 25, shipping was halted on the Mississippi river. As Gay Pride day, June 27, 1993, approached, the rains increased until USA Today reported: “Then the skies opened up on June 19-21 filling the tributaries; and on June 25-27, finally putting the rivers over their banks.” The Mississippi and Missouri rivers actually began flooding on the weekend of Gay Pride day. The Great Flood of 1993, the worst in American history, started on Gay Pride day. The flood resulted in over $15 billion in damage.
4. During September, 1994, Vice President Al Gore represented the United States at the World Population Control Conference in Cairo, Egypt. As expected, he promoted abortion as a method of birth control. Abortion was promoted as a universal right. On September 12, the next to the last day of the conference, a powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake rocked southern California. This was the eleventh most powerful earthquake to hit the U.S. this century.
5. On May 20, 1996, the headlines of the New York Times read, “Worst drought since ‘30’s grips Plains”. The article reported how a powerful drought had gripped the Midwest and western sections of the country. The article pinpointed October 1995 as when the drought started. October 1995 was also designated as Gay/Lesbian History Month by the National Teachers Association. This association passed a resolution for every school district in the nation to observe October as Gay/Lesbian History Month.
6. On February 25, 1997, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to release $385 million overseas into 100 countries for “family planning”. Pro-life forces in the Senate tried to stop the release of the funds because some of the money could be used for abortion. The Clinton Administration backed this release of funds and pushed the date of release of the funds to March 1. On March 1, the legislation was signed into law, and the money released. On the very next day, powerful tornadoes roared across Texas into Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky. The storm stalled over Ohio, and torrential rains caused record flooding on the Ohio River.

I have mentioned Homosexuality a couple of times. Does this mean that God hates homosexuals? No. He hates the sin of homosexuality. In the same way that He hates the sin of pride, worship of wealth or the killing of the unborn. Jesus will forgive anyone if they will turn away from their sin and embrace Him. John McTernan mentions many other examples where severe weather and/or economic events coincided with our acceptance of abortion and homosexual activities. All of this doesn’t mean that if your house is hit by a tornado, you have somehow offended God. We live in a fallen world and Jesus made it clear that tribulations will happen to both believers and unbelievers. The difference is whether we have built our lives on Him and how we respond to these tribulations. I do believe, however, that God is making it clear that our support of abortion and our open acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle are unacceptable to Him. How long will we receive warnings before they turn into His judgment? Only He knows. I feel very strongly that we have passed the point of no return. I believe that the Lord has now determined that the only way to remove the sin from our nation is through judgment.

So, the final piece of this is – does Bible prophecy mention weather in our future? The answer is yes. One of God’s final judgments on the world speaks of the weather. ‘The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him’ (Revelation 16:8-9). It sounds like things are going to get very hot on this planet. We see the trends today, but where does it end? We can debate the causes in our natural world (greenhouse gases, fossil fuels, etc) for the increase in global temperature, but the truth is that this world is heading for a period of time where it is going to be very unpleasant – both from wars and from the weather. As the world turns farther away from God, our spiritual enemy will continue to increase his influence. Each of us much choose whether to fight our enemy and proclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ or sit on the sidelines and watch the world’s decline from the sidelines.

We have discussed many Biblical prophecies relating to end time events.  Most of our discussions have centered on the antichrist, the beasts and the Book of Revelation.  In this post, we’re going to take a look at other verses in the Bible that give us clues to the time in which we live.  I believe that we’re given many clues that we can apply to today’s world.  For me, it has become clear that we are on the edge of passing into the final stages before Christ’s return at the end of this age.  We’re going to see the formation of a worldwide political ‘beast’.  We’re going to see the Roman Catholic Church become a ‘beast’ once again.  We will see increasing climate change that results in more severe storms, drought and famine.  Wars will become even more intense.  During all of this, we will also see an increase in the persecution of God’s saints.  Why does God reveal these things to us?  He has given us these clues so that we will not be deceived by the world.  Learn the truth of what is happening and why.  Jesus told us these things must happen, but to endure until the end.  Focus on God’s kingdom.  If you’re reading this because an event has taken place that has caused widespread fear, ask yourself why you could not see it coming.  I have spoken with many true Christians who know, as I do, that the cannot continue on its present course without God’s correction.  They may not have received a specific word from the Lord on judgment, but they know God’s Word and they know what happens when a nation refuses to heed the Lord’s warnings.  They know that there are only two paths from here – our nation repents and returns to the Lord or we do not change and the Lord corrects us.  If the things happening in the world have caught you unaware, remember what Jesus told us in Revelation chapter 3.  As I’ve mentioned before, many of us are members of the Laodicea.

"To the angel of the church in write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Revelation 3:14-22)

Step back and think about your spiritual life.  Are you hot or cold or lukewarm?  The truth is that many of us today are lukewarm.  Many of us are wealthy and live comfortable lives, but are spiritually poor….and therefore spiritually blind.  Many of us in the church cannot hear the Lord.  Many of us are not following His will.  It’s time for us to change.

“Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. "Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." As Jesus was sitting on the , the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.” (Mathew 24:1-8)

After being asked by His disciples about signs of the end of the age, Jesus immediately warns us about being deceived.  He is giving us a direct warning – there will be much deception in the world during the end times.  He then tells us that many will claim to be Christ.  Is He saying that many will say they are actually Jesus Christ?  I believe the answer is no.  Jesus is telling us that many will offer false religions with false salvation.  We are then told about wars and nations rising against nations.  Earthquakes and famines will happen throughout the world.  We are then given a vital key to these things.  Jesus tells us that these events are the beginning of ‘birth pains’.  Think about what happens during childbirth.  As the delivery progresses, contractions become more intense and happen more often.  I believe we can safely assume that as we come closer to Christ’s return - wars, earthquakes and famines will all become more intense and will increase in number.  Think about the world today.  Wars continue to rage around the world, we are seeing a significant number of earthquakes happening every week and famines continue.  It’s going to get worse.

The chapter continues with verse 9:

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Mathew 24:9-14).

We are being told that true followers of Christ will be persecuted and some will be put to death.  This parallels other verses throughout the Bible (including verses in Revelation).  Christ’s true followers are persecuted.  We are then told that many will turn away from true faith in Jesus.  Again, this parallels Revelation in that immense pressure will be placed on believers.  Those without a true, strong faith will fall.  Many will not be able to stand against our enemy.  Only those with true faith will be able to stand.  Jesus then warns us again against false prophets and deception.  This also parallels Revelation 13:13-14 “And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth”.  Does this deception exist today?  Absolutely.  If you’ve read my other posts, then you are aware of just how deceived we are. 

Verse 12 gives us another clue that Jesus is talking about our times.  “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold”.  Think about the world in which we live today.  Has wickedness increased?  Violence permeates our society.  Jails are overflowing.  Pornography is available in most of our homes either through the internet or television.  School shootings are happening more often.  Wars are raging.  As a result of our times, is the love of most growing cold?  How often do you see someone really reaching out to others – whether they know the person or not?  There are certainly faithful people in the world, but it appears that most of us are becoming more isolated.  We spend less time with family and friends and helping others.  As a result, our focus shifts from our relationship with God and those that we love, to things in the world – pursuit of wealth, material goods, social status, etc.  Empty things that the Lord tells us are meaningless pursuits. 

We live in a very busy, ‘self’ society where most of what is talked about and done is for ‘me’, not others.  This is the basis of sin – selfishness.  There are countless self help books available, but they cannot give us what we’re searching for – our Creator and His purpose for us.  If you’re working today (as most of us are), think about how the working world has changed in the past 15 years.  How many of us leave work at 5 pm each day?  How long are we commuting?  How much actual time are we spending with our spouses, our children, our families?  With cell phones, blackberries and other devices, many of us don’t ever really leave work.  There were times when I would get up on Sunday, answer a few emails on my blackberry and not even realize that I left it on my hip during church.  My mind would even wander in church to things I needed to do at work on Monday.  I couldn’t even give God one hour every week.  I would have conversations with my wife, family and friends, but I wouldn’t always be engaged in the conversation.  My mind would shift to work-related issues, problems, planning – things that needed to get done.  There’s obviously nothing wrong with working to provide for ourselves and our families.  In fact, the Bible instructs us to do so. ‘For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”’ (2 Thessalonians 3:10).  The problem is that for many of us, our work has become the focus of our lives.  This is not biblical.  ‘If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ‘For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’ (Mathew 6:30-34).  The glaring truth is that most of us do not have the faith required to put the Lord’s Word into practice.  If you’re like I was, I couldn’t seek God first because I needed to earn a living to buy nice things before anything else.  The opposite of what the Bible tells us to do.   I allowed our enemy to pull me away from the truth because I wasn’t reading God’s Word and praying to Him.  I was defenseless against the devil’s schemes.  I couldn’t even see them.

We don’t like to admit that we have allowed our spiritual enemy to deceive us, but he has in many ways.  It’s time to put away our pride and realize that we don’t know it all, that we don’t have all of the answers we’re seeking.  It’s time to realize it, understand it and start following the Lord, not our own way. 

Let’s continue in the Book of Mathew chapter 24:

"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. (Mathew 24:15-25)

The ‘abomination that causes desolation’ is a difficult topic.  It’s difficult because there are two possible interpretations of this prophecy.  This prophecy either describes the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. by the Roman Empire or it is describing a future event that has not taken place.  Much has been written about this event mentioned by the prophet Daniel and Jesus.  In the Left Behind book series, the authors interpret this as a future event with the antichrist (Nicolae Carpathia) riding through a rebuilt Jewish Temple on a pig, proclaiming to be God.  We now know that this is pure fiction.  So, is it possible that this remains a future event?  It’s very difficult to say.  Honestly, I’m not 100% sure of the answer. Jesus could have been warning His followers that when they see Roman soldiers entering the Temple (an abomination in a holy place), drop everything and get out of the city to spare yourselves.  I don’t believe this 100% because we’re also told that ‘For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now – and never to be equaled again.’  Jesus is the Lord and Savior of the whole world, not just the Jewish nation, so was this event in 70 A.D. something that caused the most distress the world has ever seen?  I don’t believe that we’ve seen the worst that satan is going to throw at us, so it is certainly possible that this is a future event.   If it is a future event, the key to unlocking this mystery is determining where ‘the holy place’ is.  Would the Lord consider a rebuilt Jewish temple that offered animal sacrifices His holy place?  We previously discussed this - I believe the answer is no.  We are told in the New Testament that we are the Lord’s church (not a building or structure)– those justified by faith.  So, if this is a future event, where will this ‘abomination’ take place?  This would lead me to believe that this prophecy was fulfilled in 70 A.D.  The end result of my study of this prophecy is that I don’t know the answer with 100% certainty.  If it is a future event, we will need to spiritually discern it.

If this prophecy is describing a future event, how bad will it be? Jesus makes it crystal clear for us – ‘there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now – and never to be equaled again.’  Jesus tells us that when this takes place, all of us will be affected.  If it were not for God’s mercy for His children, no one would survive.  I believe that Jesus could by describing Armageddon.  Nuclear war on a global scale.  It’s also interesting to note that we are told in multiple verses in the Bible that before the Lord’s return, the sun will be darkened and the moon will turn to blood. This could very well be describing how the dust and debris in the atmosphere from this worldwide event causes the sun to appear darkened and the moon to appear red. I believe this could be describing the time between the ‘abomination that causes desolation’ and the Lord’s return.

‘I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.’ (Joel 2:28-35)

Notice that the Lord mentions ‘fire and billows of smoke’ and we are told, once again, that the true children of God will be saved.  We are also told that many will prophecy, dream and see visions.  Throughout the Bible we see that the Lord tells us what He is going to do and why.  He will also speak to us at the end of this age through these prophecies, dreams and visions.

The Book of Revelation also reveals judgments that affect the appearance of the sun and moon:

‘I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.’ (Revelation 6:12-13)

Again, it appears that our view of the sun, moon and stars will be affected by an event on earth.

‘The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.’ (Revelation 8:12)

Once again, the sun, moon and stars turn dark due to a judgment from the Lord.  Are all of these verses related to the same event?  It is certainly possible.  It is also possible that multiple events will have the same result – darkened skies.

‘Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty. Because of this, all hands will go limp, every man's heart will melt. Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor.  They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame. See, the day of the LORD is coming —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger — to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger.’ (Isaiah 13:6-13)

Here we see again that the sun, moon and stars are darkened.  The word ‘desolate’ is once again used to describe the earth.  Do you see a pattern?  For those who question if the Bible is really the Word of God, remember that the men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write these words (in both the Old and New Testaments) lived hundreds of years apart – yet the message was the same.  You see this time and again within the Lord’s Word.  We are also given the reasons for these things – sin and evil in the world.  When the time comes according to God, He will punish the world for its sins.  We see this described again in Zephaniah 1:14-18:

‘The great day of the LORD is near—near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth.  Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the LORD's wrath. In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth.’ (Zephaniah 1:14-18)

We see, once again, a description of the same terrible event.  Once again ‘darkness and gloom…clouds and blackness’ are mentioned to describe our atmosphere resulting from these events.  Why are these events taking place?  It’s clear - ‘….they have sinned against the Lord.’  In our physical world, how will the Lord do this?  I believe that it is clear this is the result of worldwide war - ‘a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers’.  There is only one thing in the world today that could cause such widespread destruction – nuclear weapons.  Also note that we’re told that all the wealth in the world cannot prevent this from happening.  None of the things of the world can protect us if we turn away from God - our wealth, our weapons, our military strength – they mean nothing.

Once again, we’re also told that those who are following the Lord are offered the Lord’s protection:

‘Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD's anger.’ (Zephaniah 2:3)

The Bible tells us that even though all of these things have been foretold in God’s Word, even though there will be many who preach the Truth during these times, most of the world will not repent.  They will not turn back to God:

‘The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk.’ (Revelation 9:20)

Why are we told all of these things?  Why has the Lord instructed me to write about them?  We all need to wake up to what is happening in the world and what is going to happen.  We need to prepare ourselves spiritually.

‘These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. Yet you have a few people in who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ (Revelation 3:1-6)

We continue our study of Mathew Chapter 24:

"So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” (Mathew 24:26-31)

Jesus also tells us here about the sun, moon and stars being darkened ‘after the distress of those days’.  So, I believe that the Lord’s prophets and Jesus Himself are all speaking of the same events.  I believe they are speaking of worldwide events that are going to cause widespread ‘desolation’.  What are these events?  I think we can safely say that nuclear weapons are going to be part of this.  Nothing else on earth could cause such destruction.  This may only be one part of everything that is happening during this time.  What results from these events?  Our atmosphere is going to be polluted to the point that all heavenly bodies are darkened.  This sounds horrible and it’s going to be a very difficult time, but there is hope.  Never forget that our focus should not be on this world, but on God’s kingdom.  Jesus tells us that after these events, He will appear in the sky with power and glory.  While these events may seem horrible to unbelievers on earth and fill them with fear, they will be a sign to believers that the end is near.  They will know that their Savior is at the door.  Why will the nations mourn when Jesus returns?  Because they will see the Truth and it will be too late.  Many will have rejected God’s offer of salvation and will realize that they face eternal judgment.  Imagine persecuting God’s faithful and rejecting Him, then seeing Jesus coming in the clouds.  Finally, we’re told that Jesus gathers His faithful.  Those that have remained faithful to the end will inherit eternal life in the kingdom of heaven with Jesus and our Father.  They will have endured unto the end.

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Mathew 24:32-35)

What are we told here?  We’re told that when we begin to see these signs, the end is ‘right at the door’.  We’re also told that the generation that sees these events ‘will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened’.  Don’t miss the significance of this message.  Even though Jesus is speaking to our generation and we will see all of these things, the most important piece is that those of us who survive to the end will see Jesus return.  So, we’re not told a definite date of the Lord’s return, but we are told that we will see Him.  We are getting very close to the end of this age.

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.” (Mathew 24:36-41)

Here we are told that only our Father knows the time of Jesus’ return.  I know that many in the world try to determine when Jesus will return, but I believe these verses make it clear – we are told of the events that will tell us when the time is near, but we will not know the exact time.  We’re told by Jesus to be ready at any time for His return.  We should always focus on God’s plan for us and not worry about what is or is not going to happen.  I know this is difficult. It is something that I struggled with for some time.  As you mature spiritually, this will become easier as you place your complete trust in the Lord. 

Jesus mentions the story of Noah for a reason.  Imagine for a moment that you are Noah.  The Lord speaks to you and tells you to build an ark because the world is overcome with wickedness.  Through faith, you do what is asked of you.  Imagine building an ark in a wicked society.  Do you think that Noah was ridiculed for building this ark when nothing was currently wrong?  I’m sure he endured a few insults.  I’m sure that people probably laughed at him.  Did he build it in his backyard?  Based on the dimensions of this ark, I’m sure it looked very out of place to everyone else.  In spite of what everyone else thought, regardless of what was said to him in this world, he did what the Lord asked because he trusted the Lord.  Now, think about the world today.  Are true believers who trust the Lord ridiculed?  If someone speaks a word of prophecy, how does the world respond?  I imagine that today we endure the same type of ridicule that Noah endured.  Those who do not know the Lord are spiritually blind, and just as in Noah’s day, they will be caught unaware of what is coming.

Verses 40 and 41 then tell us what will happen when Jesus does return at the end– some will be taken (His faithful believers) with Him, others will be left (unbelievers).  If you are left, you will face eternal punishment.  There will be no second chances at this point.

“Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-9)

We are given some very important guidance in these verses.  We are told that the Day of the Lord will come unexpectedly to unbelievers.  They will not escape the Lord’s wrath.  As always, we’re then given a message of hope.  The Lord tells true believers that we are not blind as unbelievers.  The Day of the Lord will not be a surprise to us.  We will be prepared for it.  We are of the light and therefore, will not be uninformed of what is happening and why.  Verse 8 then gives us similar instruction as Ephesians chapter 6 – put on the armor of God so that when your day of evil comes, you will be able to stand.  Knowing that we have eternal salvation through God’s grace, we will not fear what is happening in the world.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Mathew 24:42-44)

Once again we’re told that we do not know the exact time of our Lord’s return, so stay faithful and keep watch.  Do not let the world draw you away from the Lord.

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Mathew 24:45-51)

Mathew chapter 24 then concludes with a clear warning to us.  Jesus is telling us to remain faithful until the end and endure.  Do not let the world pull you away from the Truth and deceive you.  If we are faithful until the end, we will receive our reward.  Do not be like those who fall away from the Truth because Jesus has not returned according to their own timetable.  Those who do not remain faithful to the end, but return to the world are given a clear warning – ‘…and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  Those that fall away will face the same fate as unbelievers.  Eternal punishment.

We returned home from Church and placed the kids down for their naps.  My wife and I decided to take a nap as well, but my mind continued to race.  I was wide awake thinking about whether or not to take the leap of faith and write a letter to my friends and family.  Then, out of nowhere, it felt as though a bolt of electricity shot through me.  I decided then and there that I was being asked to get moving.  So, I jumped out of bed, sat down at my computer and began typing a letter (written in August 2005).  I worked on the letter Sunday evening and finished it Monday night.  On Tuesday at work I sat at my computer staring at the email to my friends and family with the letter attached.  My finger hovered over the ‘send’ key for about 5 minutes.  I realized that by sending the letter, I was getting in the game, while at the same time, trusting God.  With a quiet prayer, I pressed the send key and stepped off the ledge.  Would God catch me?

As expected, the letter sparked a lot of conversation.  Jesus never promises us that we will live a nice, peaceful life if we follow Him.  In fact, he tells us the opposite will happen:

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
   a man against his father,
   a daughter against her mother,
   a daughter-in-law against her motherinlaw—
   a man's enemies will be the members of his own household." (Mathew 10:34-36)

Jesus is telling us that when you follow Him and wield God's sword (His Word), expect hostility from not just your perceived enemies, but your family members as well. 

I realized early on that it’s hard telling the truth when everyone wants to believe lies.  Lies they’ve been told their entire lives. We all struggle with rejecting the truth because we don’t want to believe it.  Initially, we’re much more comfortable with the status quo – regardless of where it may lead us.  I certainly didn’t want to believe it, but through prayer, it became clear to me what was and was not the truth.  Whether or not I wanted to believe it, the truth is the truth.  If you know the truth and realize that everyone is buying into lies, would you tell them?  If you knew the most important thing in the world, but also knew no one would believe you – could you still communicate the message?  This is where true faith and trust in the Lord come into play.  I could not stop doing what the Lord was asking simply because others rejected the message.  I had no idea what was next, but I had the feeling that my life was about to change forever – I wasn’t disappointed.

Over the next couple of weeks I felt that I was being asked to write a 2nd letter.  I also felt that I was being given a different message this time – the Lord’s judgment on our nation and a date – November 11.  Honestly, even though I felt strongly that this was given to me by the Lord, I couldn’t do it.  Writing about what was happening in the world and relating it to Bible prophecy is one thing, writing about judgment and specific dates is something else entirely.  I began to pray that if this was from the Lord, I would need some specific guidance from Him.  Even though I felt strongly about doing this, I needed evidence that this is what the Lord wanted me to do.

As these weeks progressed, I listened to more and more of Mike McClung’s (Lionheart Ministries) CD’s on spiritual warfare and bible study.  I would check their website periodically for new bible study materials.  On a Wednesday in September I was viewing their website when I noticed they had a prophecy ministry available on Thursdays.  I could schedule a time (for 20 minutes) and their prophecy team would communicate any messages that the Lord gave them.  I felt led to this ministry, so I scheduled a time for the next day.

I arrived on time and said a silent prayer sitting in my car in the parking lot – ‘Lord, if this is what you want me to do, then please make it clear, and I will do whatever you ask of me.’  I then walked inside to the sanctuary.  I met three women in a small room and they began to speak to me after initial prayers.  The first woman began with, ‘I see numbers all around you.  The Lord is communicating to you with numbers….that only someone with your training can understand….’  They told me things that were currently going on in my life and things that would happen in the future (some of which has happened since then).  It was a truly amazing experience.  I left there knowing that the Lord wanted me to write the 2nd letter.  So, after only 5 weeks since I sent the first letter, I emailed the 2nd letter to friends and family (written in September 2005).

A few days after sending the 2nd letter, I was sitting in class on a Saturday morning at UT.  I believe the topic was corporate tax law…so I wasn’t exactly engrossed in the lecture.  At 9:15am, I decided to take an early break and walked outside the lecture hall and across the patio to the bathroom.  When I came out, I started back across the patio, but decided to stop and admire the morning sunrise (the view from the patio overlooks the UT campus and Neyland Stadium).  As I stared at the sunrise, I decided to close my eyes and say a quiet prayer.  I slowly opened my eyes after praying and noticed that I had inadvertently walked right into the middle of a message that someone had stamped on the railing in big, black letters – ‘NO MORE WORK’.  I took a couple of steps backward while the Lord’s small, quiet voice told me, once again, that this message was for me.  It became clear that I would be asked to leave work as part of the Lord’s plan for me.  As with previous messages, timing was everything.  If I had seen this a few months earlier, it wouldn’t have meant anything to me.  Now, it was clear that I would leave my present job at some point in the future.  The question became – how far in the future?  I would later learn that the answer was – much sooner than I thought.

I continued to give my letters to friends and those that were interested.  I wasn’t sure where this was leading, but I was committed to following the plan laid out before me.  I gave my letters to a couple of classmates and never focused on trying to figure out the plan.  I realized early on that what I was doing was part of a plan much bigger than myself.  There was no way I could figure it all out – better to simply follow where I’m led – one step at a time.  One of my classmates happened to be an HR manager for the local Knoxville newspaper.  I never thought much about this, except that I felt led to send the letters to him.  Nothing happened for a couple of months and I began to wonder if I had misread the message God was giving to me. 

This all changed on Thursday, November 3rd.  I received a call from Ina Hughes with the Knoxville News-Sentinel.  She told me that my friend had given her the letters and she would like to interview me for an article to be published in the paper the following week.  I agreed and we met for breakfast the following morning on November 4th.  She interviewed me for an hour and I returned to work.

The article appeared in the Faith section of the News-Sentinel on Tuesday, November 8th 2005 (posted on blog) with links to my letters on their website.  As I started reading the article, I noticed that she mentioned the company where I worked.  I never told her where I worked, my friend must have mentioned this to her.  I was initially worried about this (I knew the officers of our company would be sent any articles that included our company’s name), but realized that this was all part of God’s plan.  Sure enough, later that afternoon I received a call from my manager – he was coming to Knoxville to discuss the article.  We had a good conversation at dinner that night.  He understood why I did the article, but made it clear that if I met with the media again about the letters, my employment with the company would come to an end.  There it was - the message I had been given a couple of months prior - No More Work - foretold this moment.  I had found the narrow gate.  I had walked right up to it.  The Lord was telling me what I needed to do to walk through it - leave my career and my dependency on the world behind.  My manager kept talking, but what I was thinking about was the young, wealthy man that asked Jesus what he must do to attain eternal life.

"Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." "Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth." (Mathew 19:16-22)

Every person who wants to know the Truth comes to this decision at some point.  Every person who understands what is required walks up to the narrow gate.  The question then becomes - can I walk through it?  Do I really believe?  Do I really want to follow Jesus?  Can I give up everything to follow Him?  The rich, young ruler walked right up to that narrow gate, but chose not to walk through - he couldn't give up the world.  Even though we rarely hear this in Church today - it's made clear to us in the Bible that to truly follow Jesus and enter His kingdom, we must give up the world - we must overcome the world and really, truly believe.  We must put our faith into practice.  Now you understand why Jesus tells us to weigh this carefully.  It's not something that only requires us to believe with no sacrifice.  If you truly want to follow the Lord, you will be asked to show Him.  This isn't just about what we say, it's about what we actually do. I decided that from this point on in my life, I was going to focus on God and His kingdom - not this world.

I told my manager that I understood, but if I was asked to talk further about this, I would do so.  He asked only that I give him a ‘heads-up’ if I did agree to meet again with the media.  Before we left dinner, I told him that I was told I would leave the company at some point, I just didn’t know when.  He seemed a little surprised by this.  He was very understanding and I could tell that he didn’t really want to deliver this message, but again, that’s corporate life – conformity to the world. If you're not regenerated by God, you do what the world asks you to do.

The next morning I received a call from the local CBS news affiliate.  They wanted to do an on-camera interview about the letters and my thoughts on the end times.  The one thing I’ve learned through all of this is that God will never force you to do anything.  We are given a choice – follow Him or our own way.  I had been told what I needed to do to follow Him and enter through the narrow gate, the question then became – could I actually do it?  A few months earlier and the answer would have been no.  At this point (again, timing is everything), I knew what I needed to do.  I called my manager and told him that I was going to do the interview.  He told me that he would have to relieve me of my duties.  I could tell that he didn’t want to do it, but he had to do what he was told.  I had done the same thing on more than one occasion when our company had mandatory layoffs.  You don’t like it, but business is business.  Protect the business at all costs.  Before the week was over I did a total of 2 on-air interviews for local news affiliates, 2 local radio interviews, 2 interviews on 99X radio in Atlanta and a 2nd article appeared in the News-Sentinel on Saturday, November 12th (front-page headline).  The news articles were picked up on the AP news wire and appeared in multiple cities across the U.S., including Las Vegas. It felt like a whirlwind……and then, everything got quiet the following week.  I received many emails and did a radio interview for a nationally syndicated radio program, but eventually, the phone calls, emails and interviews stopped coming.  I tried to convey the message that even though nothing happened on November 11th, nothing had changed.  This was not a message from me, but from God Himself.  This was all part of a divine plan – and our nation still faced His judgment.

I spoke to my pastor (Park West Church) a few months after all of this happened (and I was still out of work) and he gave me some good advice.  He told me that if God is clear about what He wants you to do and gives you a message about your future - something that you’re going to do in the future -  and you’ve got to endure to get to that point, what you’re really being asked to do is – have FAITH.  Faith that He will always be faithful.  Faith that He will not let you fall.  I was going through a valley to strengthen my faith, so that in the future, when others are lost and falling, I would be able to stand.  He was showing me the spiritual weapons I would need, weapons that would be vitally important to my future.  Even though it was very difficult (I don’t like to be out of the action), I was asked to endure without a job for a long time.  15 months to be exact.  In January 2007, when my savings were depleted I spoke to my pastor again.  He told me that he really looked forward to talking with me and my wife when he saw us on his calendar.  He said that the Lord had made it clear that it was time for me to aggressively go after a job opportunity.  He said that I should not be ashamed of what happened in the past and to be sure and make contact with old friends.  I felt like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders and it was time to go back to work.  Within 4 weeks I was offered a job in Atlanta with better pay and benefits than my previous job.  I was given a generous relocation package.  My wife and I found a home in Atlanta and sold our home in Knoxville within a couple of days of each other.  We’re on our way out of the valley.

Today is May 7, 2007.  I’ve been working at my new job for a few months now.  My family and I are permanently moving to Atlanta in a few weeks.  Where does all of this lead?  I don’t have all of the answers, but I know that wherever I go and whatever I do, He will be with me - guiding me every step of the way.