Monday, January 23, 2017

Civil War Foreboding

On the evening before the presidential inauguration, Donald Trump and his family stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial while U.S. marines sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The song originated during the Civil War, and Lincoln was president during the Civil War and was assassinated near the end of it.

The scene was very foreboding. I'll explain why. 

I see two strongly held beliefs in the Christian community, each backed with prophetic dreams, visions and words:

1) Trump is God’s chosen man to restore traditional America and give it a reprieve - MAJORITY VIEW.
2) Trump is not what he says he is and is part of God’s judgment on America - MINORITY VIEW


They can’t both be true. God is not the author of confusion and is not going to send two mixed, contradictory messages. One or the other is a deception. Full disclosure: I am in the second camp.

When the prophecy from Mark Taylor came out earlier last year about Trump being God's chosen man to restore America, I had recently read Jeremiah 28 about the false prophet Hananiah. He claimed God would throw off the yoke of Babylon and make Judah great again, even though God had declared judgment against the nation. The Lord impressed on my heart that I was witnessing the same kind of false prophecy today. America is under judgment for its wickedness, and God is not going to give the nation a reprieve unless it REPENTS, which I see no evidence for. On the contrary, the calamities of judgment will be the means He uses to move some hearts to repentance. Judgment is a mercy, lest even more souls fall into hell.

A couple weeks ago I was up late praying and seeking insight about the times we are in and also about Obama and Trump and their roles in it. The next morning my 9-year-old daughter came in my office and showed me Judges 9, specifically Jotham’s parable of the trees, because she felt like God wanted to show her something there. I think the Lord did have a message for her, but it was also an answer to my prayer. The Lord brought Judges 9 and the story of Abimelech to my wife and I's attention several times recently, but we never really understood the significance of it. Then it hit me that story is a prophetic metaphor for America. Since Abimelech and the men of Shechem committed murder and wickedness, God allowed a spirit of conflict to arise that would divide the nation and provoke a form of civil war -- as a divine judgment.

Barack Obama is represented by King Abimelech. Another character arises named Gaal son of Ebed, who stirs up the men of Shechem against Abimelech, and who I believe represents Donald Trump:

"Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his relatives, and crossed over into Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their trust in him." - Judges 9:26

There was much bloodshed and many died in the ensuing battles, which again was God's intended judgment for their wickedness. In the end Abimelech gets a fatal head wound from a millstone dropped on him. This is very interesting in light of this description of the beast in Revelation 13:

“I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed.” – Revelation 13:3

Like Gaal, the purpose of Trump is to stir up half the country, and especially the Christians, against the other half who follow Obama and his agenda. I believe a civil conflict/war is coming. Trump is probably going to be a scapegoat for the economic collapse, jihad attacks, etc., and that blame will be transferred onto the far right and especially onto Christians, which is exactly what Obama wants and could set him up for a return to power.

MANY people believe martial law coming to this nation at some point. Let me make a speculation: It won't be Obama who instigates martial law, but it will be Donald Trump in response to some catastrophe like a jihad attack. 90% of Christians will love it and want it and cheer for it because it's Trump. Except in the end it will be turned against them.

That same morning my daughter also flipped open to a page in her Bible that she thought was significant too. There was an illustration that showed the writing on the wall for Belshazzar in Daniel 5. That really spoke to me because twice already I felt the Lord impress on me that Trump will meet an untimely demise:

“Now this is the inscription that was written out: ‘MENĒ, MENĒ, TEKĒL, UPHARSIN.’ This is the interpretation of the message: ‘MENĒ’—God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. ‘TEKĒL’—you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. ‘PERĒS’—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians… That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain.” – Daniel 5:25-28,30

Last week before the inauguration we asked the Lord directly whether Obama will stay in office. Because I did not think Trump would actually reach the White House in light of who Obama is and his agenda. [NOTE: It is really challenging to interpret prophecy. I find the Lord will give some specifics about WHAT is coming but does not say much about HOW and WHEN. Sometimes I make assumptions and get emotionally attached to particular interpretations that may not turn out accurate. We have to keep seeking him and walking by faith!]

The first word He brought up was "circumference." Interesting because I had recently taught my daughter how to measure the circumference of a circle. You start at one point, go all the way around and end where you began. In other words, you go full circle and back to where you started. The question was whether Obama will stay in office, and the answer was something like "full circle."

Other words that came up were "claim" (to presidency or reins of power?) and "clash" (over competing claims to power?). Sounds like the story of Abimelech.

Before that my daughter saw something significant from our back window. She watched a large bird of prey, which she later identified as a golden eagle, holding a snake. Golden eagles are rare around here, but I have seen them before in the winter. A second golden eagle tried to take the snake and a struggle ensued. In the end, the eagle who first held the snake flew away with it triumphantly.

One more note. My interpretation of other words we received (shadow, dissimulate, distract) was that Obama still holds reins of power by controlling a shadow government. He and the globalists have spent the last 8 years installing their players in the CIA, Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security, FBI, etc. In fact, this country has been controlled by elites - the shadow government, the military-industrial complex, the deep state, whatever you want to call it - for decades. The last president that directly challenged the shadow government was John F. Kennedy when he denied the CIA's demand for air cover during the Bay of Pigs invasion, which would have led to re-invading Cuba and potentially war with the Soviet Union. Kennedy said no and then tried to tear apart the CIA. Everyone knows what happened to Kennedy in the end. The CIA, Lyndon Johnson and other members of government were behind it. It was a coup d'etat.

My point is don't be fooled into thinking Trump controls the executive branch of government. No president does fully anymore. But particularly now, the shadow government is running the globalists' New World Order agenda. Obama may have left office, but he still has power.

My warning to everyone is don't get caught up in the coming conflict. Be careful who you follow. It should only be Jesus Christ.

Monday, January 2, 2017

Even Some with Discernment Will Stumble - Part II


Continuing with the previous post, I'd like to address some of the specific deceptions and errors I see popping up in the remnant Christian community. With one exception, I'm not going to name names because I don't want to create ill will or more more divisions in the body. 

Deception #1: If someone disagrees with me, telling him that he might not be a Christian or might lose his salvation if he doesn't agree will really get my point across.

No, what you are doing is akin to condemning someone. Jesus said:

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned." - Luke 6:37

Yes, we should stand up for truth and righteousness and correct others (and ourselves) when necessary. It is true to say that Jesus is the only way to the Father and those who do not believe in Jesus stand condemned already, but it is something else to consign people to hell because they disagree with a particular theological issue.

Our ministry on earth is to follow in the footsteps of Christ. This is the ministry of reconciliation and salvation, not condemnation:

"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." - John 3:17

God will certainly judge all of us. But that's his job, not ours.

Deception #2: I have the gift of prophecy, so my prophetic words, dreams or visions are direct revelation from God and not subject to the Scriptures.

No. Any prophetic word that contradicts the Scriptures is not from God. Period. It might originate from your own imagination, or it might be "second heaven chatter" that was slipped into your mind by demons and fallen angels. We are all mortals living in fleshly bodies who can make mistakes. The devil is tricky, tricky, tricky.

God is not the author of confusion. His words do not contradict themselves and do not change. They stand forever.

All prophetic revelations and interpretations should be weighed against the totality of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. If it doesn't fit, throw it out.

Deception #3: Donald Trump is God's chosen man to restore America and we are getting a reprieve.

If America is getting a reprieve, then perhaps the Lord owes Nineveh an apology, because they actually had to repent from wickedness to get a reprieve, but America has not! 

"Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, 'Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.' Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them...

When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it." - Jonah 3:4-5,10

The only way to delay or lessen God's judgment is REPENTANCE. That does not mean going to church or saying a prayer or voting for Trump. That means we have a change of heart and stop doing the evil things that offend God. America has not done this!

What bothers me so much about the Christian leaders who are promoting Trump and the idea of America getting a reprieve is that their position contradicts the Scriptures. 

When the (in)famous fireman's prophecy from Mark Taylor was announced earlier this year about Trump being God's chosen man to make America great again, I had recently read Jeremiah 28 and the story of the false prophet Hananiah. The Lord impressed on my heart that I was witnessing the same kind of false prophecy today.

God had declared to Judah that King Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon would destroy the nation and carry away the people into exile for 70 years. This was his will and the punishment for Israel's long period of rebellion against him. In fact, it would have gone easier for the Israelites if they had just submitted to captivity, but instead they rebelled against that too and were crushed by Babylon's army.

The false prophet Hananiah announced that God had changed his mind and would break the yoke of Babylon and make Judah great again. But God's real prophet Jeremiah rebuked him, and the Lord took Hananiah's life a couple months later.

I tell you what - you couldn't pay me a million dollars to stand in the shoes of these people making false prophecies about Trump. 

It's true that God has used Trump to expose some of America's sins, but that doesn't mean he was chosen to restore it. The Lord keeps leading my wife and me to 1 Samuel 8, where the people of Israel told the prophet Samuel that they wanted a king instead of prophets to judge them. The Lord said, "They have rejected Me from being king over them." Trump is like a King Saul. He is a test for Christians in America: Will they prefer to follow a man, or will they listen and yield to the voice of the Lord?

And don't get me started about the heaps of evidence that say Trump is NOT what he says he is. 

Deception #4: Since the word for God in Genesis 1 (Elohim) is different from the word for God in Genesis 2 (Jehovah Elohim), it means that Satan and the fallen angels created mankind in their image.

This is not true. There are many words for God in the Old Testament and Elohim is definitely one of them. Just because the word elohim can also refer to magistrates or angels, as in Psalm 82, doesn't mean that Satan and his angels created us in his image.

In fact, the Apostle Paul referred to Satan as a "god":

 "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving..." - 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

This is a reference to Satan's worldly influence and authority during this age, at least until Jesus Christ shows up on a white horse with a sword to deal with him. It doesn't mean Satan created anything. Satan can manipulate creation for his twisted purposes, and even contributed to the corruption of mankind, but he didn't create anything.

Paul also clarified that we are created in God's image:

"For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God..." -2 Corinthians 11:7


Therefore, men and women are created in the image of God, the Lord God, the Creator God.

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Even Some with Discernment Will Stumble - Part I



A couple days ago my wife and I went on a date night to the local ski resort for some evening skiing. It was nice to get up on the mountain for some fresh air and clear views while the grandparents watched the kids. But I think I skied one run too many because I fell spectacularly the last time down. Somehow I turned too sharply, clipped off one of my skis and fell over. There was a patina of ice on the slope and I slid quickly downhill. I tried to dig in my remaining ski as a brake but flipped around so I was sliding down head first on my back. So I rolled lengthwise to get the ski under me again and tried to dig in the edge. It was tough but eventually I came to rest on the side of the run near the trees.

A compassionate snowboarder brought down my other ski and asked if I was okay. I said yes and thanked him. The fall had pulled the hat and goggles off my head and I just lay there a couple minutes, shaking the ice out of my hair and thinking, "What the heck just happened?"


Which is how I have felt in general recently

Some Will Stumble


This blog has been fairly quiet lately because, to be honest, I sense the time of warning is over. The Lord's judgment is upon America and things will break loose any day. People have either received the message or not.

However, after published my previous post in November, Living in the Time of the Antichrist - The Message of Daniel 11:32-35, I was not expecting to see a fulfillment of the Daniel 11:35 prophecy right away:

"Even some of those with discernment will stumble, so that some of them will be refined, purified and cleansed for an end yet to come at the designated time." (Complete Jewish Bible)


But in fact this is what happened. Christians, even in the "awake" remnant community, have been falling into error and deception all over the place. Personally, in the last couple of weeks I have seen trial and temptation and stumbling too. I was racked with frustration and doubt about prophetic fulfillments a couple weeks ago. Fear, lust, anger and unforgiveness have raised their ugly heads. My older daughter got a gushing nosebleed in the middle of the night that lasted so long I feared she might lose consciousness or have to go to the ER because of blood loss. (It turns out she has an allergy or some strange reaction to artificial food coloring in food!) I have felt rattled and then watching other people I respect stumble has only added to it.


I have seen solid people with prophetic gifts suddenly put forth messages and doctrines that contradict the Scriptures. When reproved, they dig in their heels. A person who is normally sweet-natured and kind wrote a venomous post with false teaching. A ministry I thought was credible and listened to their shows has been exposed for deception and teaching sorcery! I'm seeing people criticize others with harshness and condemnation, creating fractures and divisions among believers.


Folks, Satan & Co. are having a field day. They are probing for weaknesses and stepping up attacks everywhere. The spiritual battle described in Ephesians 6 is real. If the enemy can coax a Christian to fall into sin or deception, they can discredit or derail their ministry and cause mayhem in general. If they can coax Christians to hurt each other, they can create divisions, and a house divided against itself cannot stand.


I want to warn everyone, including myself, that we need to stay close to Jesus, guard our hearts and repent often.


Avoiding Deception


My wife and I asked God how to avoid being deceived and were led to this verse:

"The rod has budded; arrogance has blossomed." - Ezekiel 7:10


Pride is a soul killer and an open door for deception. If we think we have it all figured out, and won't let God continue to teach and mold us, then we are setting ourselves up for deception. Spiritual discernment begins with humility and purity of heart. It's not about intelligence or education or belonging to the right club. God did not choose Moses to lead the nation of Israel because Moses had all the "right answers." He chose Moses because he was humble:


"Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth." - Numbers 12:3


In contrast, the spirit of America, which is the daughter of Babylon or mystery Babylon in the Scriptures, is PRIDE:


"Now, then, hear this, you sensual one, who dwells securely, who says in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one besides me. I will not sit as a widow, nor know loss of children.'" - Isaiah 47:8


And pride comes before the fall:


"Pride goes before destruction, and arrogance before failure." - Proverbs 16:18


In fact, any sin creates an open door for the enemy to slip in deceptions. This is why we have to listen to the Holy Spirit, read the Bible, stay true to its teaching and repent often.


To read the second part of this post, click here.