10/24/2007

Self Promotion

By Pastor David L. Burns
E-meditations


What I am about to share will be a difficult and certainly a debatable subject matter. Many will agree with me, and many will disagree. I have been seeking the LORD about this subject for a few weeks. In fact, looking back over my own life, I can see where the LORD has led me to a great change of heart and mind and I want to share this with you for you to consider and pray about.

When I watch Christian TV, listen to Christian radio, read Christian publications and review Christian ministries on the Internet, there is something that concerns me. Certainly we all know that these ministries need and deserve financial support. That is not debatable, and it seems to me to be Biblical for ministries to ask for support. There are Biblical examples such as when Moses asked the people to give to build the tabernacle. The churches supported Paul, so that when he had support he would preach, but when he had no support he would build tents until the support arrived. So I want to clarify that I am NOT against ministries encouraging others to support their work.

However, what has began to concern me as of late is the self-promotion that is within the appeal for support. If someone stands up in the church where I pastor and says, “I want to thank God for how the LORD has used Victory Christian Center to encourage me in my faith”, then that is a genuine testimony. But, if I know someone has an appreciation for VCC and I purposely ask them to produce a recording or broadcast telling how great our church is and then tack on the end of their testimony about our need for support, isn’t that self-promoting? This is so common on Christian TV. At the end of so many broadcasts, people share how a tape series changed their life. Recently I heard of an info commercial selling praise and worship music and how some testimonies went something like this: “Our marriage was about to break up until we started listening to these worship CDs. These CDs have saved our marriage”. And, “This worship music has delivered me from my addiction”. Wow! Wait just a minute. Where is Jesus in all this?? Worship music cannot save a marriage. A CD cannot deliver us from addictions! Only Jesus can! And when He does, only Jesus deserves the glory! Can I get a witness? And when Jesus uses us as individuals or our church or Christian organization, should we really take advantage of that individual’s testimony in order to gain more financial support? I don’t know! Something doesn’t set will with me anymore about this type of self-promotion.

To use people to promote a church or Christian organization seems to direct the glory and success to a person or the organization rather than the LORD. This isn’t right! It is a business technique that works for the corporate world, such as what we observe with all of the exercise equipment on TV and diet programs. They show before and after photos and people give testimonies. Look, the only reason these people give testimonies is because advertisers know that to have people buy their product the must have testimonies from every day people of how the product has helped them get in shape! The end desire is to sell, thus receiving more money, right?

I don’t see this in the Bible! Jesus never coached those who He healed to give testimonies to promote His work. Neither did the Apostles. How would it appear to you, if on Sunday morning you visited the church where I preach, and before my sermon, I had met with and coached several people how to give a testimony about me…maybe a genuine testimony that they shared with me over lunch. Now, I have them come out, and stand in front of the church and say, “Pastor Burns has really blessed my life. He has helped me overcome sin and discouragement and I just want to praise God for pastor Burns”, and then a slide comes on the screen with my mailing address where you can send your support. Now that should not set well with anyone!! I have never done that and will never do that. But this is exactly what I see happening within Christianity on the media.

Why are these testimonies so frequent and why are they even part of the ministries’ advertisement? One reason…MONEY or as it is properly referred to, “support”. You might say, “No, it is only so that more people will realize it is a valuable ministry work in the Kingdom of God”. But something is wrong if people have to be convinced.

Reason with me. If God is who He says He is, and these ministries boast of how God has miraculously provided in the past, why are they “working the crowd”? If they weren’t concerned about more money coming in through more supporters, then is there really any need for self-promotion in this way? Absolutely not! Why do ministries need more supporters except for more money? Am I right?

Okay, maybe you are thinking that more supporters means more prayer support. That’s legitimate if we lived in a perfect world, but that is not the case. Name me one church or Christian organization that right now would ask their supporters to stop giving and do nothing but pray instead.

When I hear these self-promoting testimonies, I feel abused and taken advantage of because I know that, though the individual giving the testimony may have really been blessed by God through the church, TV or radio ministry or Christian organization, now they are being used as an advertising ploy to bring in more money.

In the Bible, the apostles went about the LORD’S work in humility, never boasting except in the LORD, never promoting themselves, but only Jesus.

“If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” (James 2:3-4).

Despite what is taught in the Word, come on! Generous supporters are given special attention by so many churches and Christian organizations. It goes on all the time.

It is pounded into our minds, that we must promote ourselves. We must speak highly of our success so that others will see that we indeed are successful. This grows into a competitive spirit of pride, selfishness and self-ambition rather than humility and selflessness.

Here’s my point. Who’s providing? The LORD or the people? Some ministries have expanded and expended way beyond their means. Don’t you find it disturbing, that on the front side, the ministry will say they need to build a bigger building or expand so that they can reach more people? If this is true, then when they complete the expansion and incur more expenses, why do they now have less money to reach out? Now, more is going to keep the structure and expansion operational. Hello? We don’t operate our households this way, or at least we shouldn’t! Many do, I’m afraid.

Over the weekend I was told about a church that spends $25,000.00 per week in operational expenses. Maybe they have pinched every penny and are very frugal with how they manage the LORD’S provision. But, you and I both know that so many churches and Christian organizations are living beyond their means hoping to increase their means just to barely pay for their expansion.

My point centers upon what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3: 6-9, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.” God is the one who grows our churches and our ministry work. Not us and not our supporters. With God, you can accomplish His work without one single supporter!

Through self-promotion we stop depending upon the provision of God, and we convince ourselves that God is going to provide through the deep pockets of the next supporter we can win to our side if only we present our ministry work to them in a convincing way over a nice supper. The one who finds his own support, often finds his own way too.

What about simply trusting in Jesus to provide for what He has ordered? Now there’s a brand new thought!

After all if Jesus wants a rich supporter to send a contribution your way, couldn’t Jesus do that without your feeble efforts at self-promotion?

Just maybe, the more we lift up the name of Jesus, the more we would see Jesus draw people unto Himself! Maybe the more we decrease and the more we increase the name of the LORD, just maybe the more provision we would enjoy!

Why does it appear that though the LORD owns the cattle on a thousand hills, so many believe potential supporters own those cows?

Well, this week, keep your eye out and see if you don’t see and hear a lot of self-promotion going on!

Dear Heavenly Father, help each of us rely upon You to promote Your work that we do, because so often we can't promote You without first promoting ouselves. In Jesus' Mighty Name, Amen!

10/04/2007

America's New Age of Dark Power

by David J. Meyer
Last Trumpet Ministries


"When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness." (Luke 22:53 )

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12 )

"Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Baalam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Co'-re. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever." (Jude 11-13)

In this issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, we will use the Scripture and our God-given discernment to examine the workings of a dark force that is now in its final stages of transforming America and the rest of the world into a new age of antichrist dominance. This sinister and clandestine force is so deceptive that nearly all of humanity accepts it. What has happened to our nation of the United States of America? Clearly, it is not the nation it once was! What has happened to the way people think? Who are we, and what have we become? Has humanity and the society of the last days become the product of a strange force operating within secret societies? Has this force been cleverly and gradually manifested through our religions, schools, and universities?

What has become of the value systems, integrity, character, and honor of the once revered "American way?" Our land is now inhabited by countless millions of people who have never known the American way or those value systems; neither do they want to know them. The powers of Antichrist have manufactured a spiritual melting pot to blend every ideology, religion, and belief system into one satanic admixture of apathetic confusion. Only true Christianity cannot and will not mix into this witches' brew, and every blended component of the satanic amalgam rises up to condemn the true Christian for presenting the saving power of Jesus Christ as the only way of salvation. In recent days, Satan has intensified his fire under this seething melting pot of confusion and is bringing the world to a full boil. In a spiritual sense, it is like the warning given to the prophet Jeremiah regarding Babylon overtaking Israel because of Israel's gross iniquities. In Jeremiah 1:13-14 we read as follows: "And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north. Then the Lord said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land." We must note that the evil out of the North that would break out against Israel was the land of Babylon, and that land is modern day Iraq. It appears that Jeremiah's seething pot is boiling once again, and this whole region has become a bloody scourge to America at the behest of President Bush!

We must also take note of the reason why the United States, like ancient Israel, will be the recipient of troublesome judgment. In Jeremiah 1:16 we read as follows: "And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands."

It is certain that severe judgment will come to America very soon. Fearful sights and burning will be everywhere because of the pride and wickedness of a nation that had been given so much and has responded by becoming so evil. We also know that the Almighty Saviour will never leave or forsake his people. We are kept in the very palm of the Father's hand. The great question is: Where will you be when the entire earth shakes and every volcano erupts simultaneously? How will it be with your soul when the skies fill with angels and the great and last trumpet sounds? You can be at peace with the Saviour if you yield to Him and truly repent and turn away from evil, and then go on to obey the Gospel. Do it now! Time is almost gone!

Global Confusion!

We are now living during a time when it is impossible to bring logic or common sense into anything major that is happening. The reason this is the case is because elitist illuminists, working within the Masonic Lodge, the Scottish Rite, and the Grand Orient Lodges, are now carrying out the final directives of an age-old plot for a one-world government under their god, Lucifer. All of this ongoing effort has brought this nation to a condition of absolute rebellion against Almighty God. In addition to that, it seems that continual mistakes are being made that always favor our enemies as the wealth and independence of our erstwhile great nation become absorbed into a global mixture of ambiguity. This causes the masses of people to be confused and frightened, which makes them easy to control. Since the people do not turn to the true Almighty God for help, they put their trust in their government, which is the very power that is secretly destroying their freedom, faith, health, and wealth.

We continue to fight a war that makes no sense and has been proven to have been started on a false premise. This war is now costing the American taxpayers a whopping twelve billion dollars per month. (1) Paper money is being printed in record amounts, and much of it ends up in the hands of the enemy. On July 12th, 2007, so-called thieves robbed a bank in Baghdad and stole 300 million U.S. dollars in cash! (2)

The war in Iraq had become so obviously ridiculous that numerous members of President Bush's own Republican Party have turned against him, and it has now been admitted that there is an open rebellion of Republican senators over the war in Iraq. (3) We also know that European governments have declared their distrust for the Bush Administration. High-ranking officials in the government of France, such as Housing Minister Christine Boutin, have suggested that President Bush was behind the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. (4)

There is now grave concern that Red China is supplying our enemies in Iraq with high-powered weapons. Richard Lawless, senior Pentagon official for Asia, has repeatedly raised this issue, but Mr. Lawless is now being replaced. (5)

The response of President Bush to the continued failures in Iraq is simple; he is calling for another troop build up. (6) It is a sad fact that our so-called freeing of the Iraqis has caused the death of 665,000 civilians. Now we have learned that many more deaths will be the result of a new weapon. U.S. Air Force Lt. General Gary North announced the planned deployment of a new attack bomber, which is a pilotless drone. The planes will be remotely controlled from a console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The planes are classified as hunter-killers and are equipped with infrared, laser targeting, and a ton and a half guided bombs and missiles. The name given to these planes is the MQ-9 Reaper, and the announcement was made just before the forthcoming witches' sabat of Lughnasaid, which is the August 1st sabat known as the harvest of souls. The dimensions of the MQ-9 Reaper reveal occult designing. The plane is exactly 36 feet long, (6x6=36), and all numbers from 1 through 36 inclusive total 666. The wingspan is also 66 feet. The planes are armed with missiles named Hellfire by our Air Force. A 400,000 square foot facility is being built just fifty miles north of Baghdad to accommodate these grim Reapers. (7) The entire Middle East is feeling the full effect of the terror of our weapons.

On July 9th, 2007, the Associated Press reported that 140,000 Turkish troops have massed along the Turkish-Iraq border. This massive army is fully armed and ready for immediate action, but the Pentagon is denying it. (

On July 2nd, 2007, a high-ranking official in the Shin Bet, the Israeli Security Agency, revealed that the recent strife with Hamas was actually a battle to completely take over the Temple Mount. The Israeli official's exact words were: "Their goal is to gain full control over the Temple Mount." Why was this not in the media broadcasts? (9) There are spiritual reasons for all of these wars and rumors of war as Satan attempts to realign the world.

Is World War III looming largely on the horizon? On July 15th, 2007, the New York Times reported that Russia has suspended its Arms Pact, and has officially notified NATO that it has suspended all obligations to the arms treaty. (10) Meanwhile, a British newspaper revealed that Iranian bombers are crossing over into Iraq and bombing our soldiers. The defense editor for The Sun stated, "We are at war with Iran in all but name!" (11)

On July 2nd, 2007, AFP News released a story describing a uniting of Iran and Venezuela against the United States. Both of these nations are powerful members of the OPEC oil cartel and have been labeled the axis forces, the very same name given to the united forces of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan during World War II. (12)

In America, conditions continue to deteriorate. President George Bush commuted the thirty-month prison sentence of his co-conspirator and convicted criminal, Lewis "Scooter" Libby. This act raised a stench of scandal to the very skies over Washington, D.C. (13)

We are now hearing a lot of talk of an impending series of terror attacks that are to take place in the United States. We are being warned of this by Michael Chertoff, a man whose last name is Russian, and in the Russian language, his last name means son of Satan. Chertoff is the director and chief of the powerful Department of "Homo-land Insecurity." Will heinous events occur soon on American soil? We remember the words of the Communist 32nd degree Mason Franklin D. Roosevelt who said, "If it happens, you can bet that we planned it that way."

We have also been hearing a lot from Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who, speaking as the true Communist that she is, recently said, "It is time to replace an on your own society with one based on shared responsibilities and prosperity. I prefer a 'we're all in it together' society." (14) Clearly, Hillary believes that Beatle John Lennon was right in his song "Imagine", in which he sings of no possessions in a communistic society of irresponsible sharing without individual ownership.

Let it never be said again that the United States of America is a Christian nation! On the 13th day of July 2007, the prayer and invocation in the United States Senate was said by a Hindu "clergyman." The Hindu religious leader stood in the Senate chamber holding the Vedas (sacred book) and began to call upon the spirit of the earth, sea, and sky, exactly as Wiccan priests and priestesses do. Suddenly, a man cried out to the Lord Jesus and interrupted the Hindu saying, "God forgive us for this abomination….." The Christian's prayer was interrupted as the Sergeant at Arms dragged him out. The Hindu began a second time to call on the earth spirit when suddenly a Christian woman cried out rebuking the devil and this abomination in our U.S. Senate. She also was interrupted and dragged out as the Sergeant at Arms was so instructed. The Hindu began his invocation a third time, and another Christian was likewise dragged out as soon as he began to rebuke the satanic Hindu. (15) As I listened to this news clip, I was amazed and thankful that God had three witnesses cry out against the abominable invocation of Satan, sponsored by our antichrist government. When will Americans wake up and realize that we have lost our country? The Hindu cleric was praying in clear language to the "god of the earth." In II Corinthians 4:4, we read as follows: "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." I love my country; it is the land where I was born, but it is not now the same America I was born in. It has been seized upon by occult forces and is inhabited by people who do not care. I am so ashamed of this nation that has become an embarrassment to the entire world. Fearful judgment is on its way!

On the same day that the Hindu abomination occurred in our Senate chamber, the 13th day of July 2007, the U.S. State Department Headquarters was attacked by what the Associated Press called killer wasps. These killer wasps are two inches long, and thousands of them have chosen to nest in the State Department building in Washington, D.C. It is being called a total infestation! (16) I immediately thought of Exodus 23:28, which reads as follows: "And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite , from before thee." I must note at this point, that the three nations mentioned in this verse worshipped the gods of earth, wind, and fire, just as the Hindus do. This wasp infestation that occurred on the same day at the headquarters of the powerful State Department is a clear sign from the Almighty of judgment forthcoming. Where are the Christian ministers who should be sounding the alarm?

The Rising of the New European Reich!

While the United States continues to struggle under the destructive powers of sin and iniquity, a new world empire is rising in Europe. Strange events have been surrounding the rise of the new European Reich, but few people seem to take note of what is happening all around them. One event that received very little press coverage was the June 16th, 2007 death of Baron Guy de Rothschild at age 98. (17) The Rothschild dynasty still controls the economies of the world secretly and by spiritual means. High-level witches do not regard the members of the Rothschild family as human but as gods. The Rothschild tribunal is represented by the triangle elevated above the truncated pyramid with the singular eye and a great light emanating from behind it. This is the crest of the Illuminati, and it appears on the back of the U.S. one dollar bill.

The very next day after the death of Rothschild, it was announced that the last act of Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain would hand the European Union radical new powers. The exact words of the London Daily Express headline pertaining to this are as follows: "Secret New Plans for EU Super State." (18) We are now seeing a strange and clandestine plan unfolding before our very eyes. A powerful United States of Europe, or European Union, is growing stronger every day, and thirteen of its nations are already united economically under the Euro currency. While the stock market in the United States rapidly inflates like a balloon ready to burst, the U.S. dollar continues to slide and fall rapidly against all other major currencies. What is happening? Remember, we must always look for spiritual reasons!

We know that about 70 years ago a man named Adolf Hitler had a dream and ambition to bring the world to order and to unite all of Europe with the secret help of the Vatican. It was Hitler who coined the words New World Order. Hitler also laid out his objectives in a book called Mein Kampf. It is all a long story and well imprinted on the pages of history as World War II erupted. All of this was orchestrated by globalist conspirators. Wars are planned well in advance and always with a primary objective in mind.

Most people believe that Adolf Hitler committed suicide in a bunker, and some believe he escaped to Argentina by U-boat. One thing is certain; he is dead now. Hitler's dreams and ambitions, however, are not dead, and this is where the amazing part of this story begins. German Chancellor Angela Merkel made known her determination to unite all of Europe under one constitution on January 7th, 2007. This powerful woman seemed to rise from almost nowhere to become Chancellor of Germany, President of the European Union, and head of the G-8 economic block of nations. (19) Who is this amazing woman?

Angela Merkel was born in the D.D.R., the Communist portion of Germany in 1954. Her biography says she was born on July 17, 1954, and that she is the daughter of a Lutheran minister from an East German-controlled church. Recently, however, Soviet KJB archive files reveal an entirely different story. Stasi GDR files indicate that she was born on April 20th, 1954, and details of her birth were included in the records of the German Dr. Karl Klauberg, who was one of the Nazi "death doctors" convicted by Soviet courts and imprisoned. When he later was recognized as a brilliant scientist, he was released after seven years and was recognized as the father of artificial insemination. The Soviets were even more intrigued when they discovered Dr. Klauberg had preserved frozen samples of the sperm of Adolf Hitler. The forces of darkness in high places decided to try to produce a child from Hitler's sperm, obviously for occult and illuministic purposes. Dr. Klauberg then brought the youngest sister of Eva Braun (Hitler's wife), whose name was Gretl, to Eastern Germany, and the result of the experiment produced not a biological son of Hitler, but rather a daughter. Amazingly, Adolf Hitler was born on April 20th, 1889, and Angela Merkel was born on April 20th, 1954. (April 20th is 11 days before the witches' high sabat of Beltaine.) Angela became a custodian of the Catholic Church through its connections with the East German Lutheran Church. Once a German Pope would take the Roman throne, Angela Merkel was to also take her biological father's position as German Chancellor. On April 20th, 2005, the Nazi Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI, (16th), precisely on the 116th birthday of Adolf Hitler. Then on November 22nd, 2005, Hitler's biological daughter, Angela Merkel was elected Chancellor of Germany. The day of that election, November 22nd, was the anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species, which is an antichrist publication denying the Creator of the universe.

If the Soviet record is true, and the evidence is strong, it opens up some amazing possibilities. The undeniable fact is that Angela Merkel came from obscurity to triumviral power as German Chancellor, President of the European Union, and head of the powerful G-8 economic cartel. When I began to do further research on this, I discovered that Hitler's father, who took the name Hitler, was the illegitimate son of a Rothschild mistress whose last name was Schicklgruber. The etymology of the name Hitler reveals that the name means a shepherd who lives in a hut. The name Adolf from Old High German means noble wolf. Thus, his combined name indicates that he was the Shepherd Wolf, or false shepherd. Strangely enough, Pope Ratzinger, or Benedict XVI, also has the title of Shepherd of the Church, and since he took office, the Roman Catholic Church has had a German shepherd. Incidentally, that breed of dog resembles a wolf. We also know that Adolf Hitler nicknamed himself Herr Wolf. His East Prussian headquarters was called Wolfsschanze; his headquarters in France was called Wolfsschlucht, and his headquarters in the Ukraine was called Werwolf. (20) Will the powerful European Union become the New World Order and Fourth Reich? Only God knows.

One more interesting point is that Chancellor Angela Merkel has an unusual obsession with the works of the occult composer Richard Wagner, who was a Satanist. She made her obsession known in an interview with the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in July 2005. (21) Wagner wrote the infamous composition called Parsifal, which is purely occult and demonic. Parsifal was a favorite of Adolf Hitler as well, and Hitler stated that the music of Wagner occupied his mind. Angela Merkel, like Adolf Hitler, is deeply fascinated with Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries. The valkyries were minor female deities that would ride through every battle to gather the most valiant of the slain and carry them off to a place called Valhalla where they would wait to join the army of Odin in the last battle at the end of the world. (22)

Is this woman, Angela Merkel, being used of Satan to marshal the forces for the last battle called Armageddon? It is also interesting to note that Chancellor Merkel has exactly the same eyes as Chancellor Hitler, and she bears a striking resemblance to him except for the little moustache, of course.

The Manifestation of Dark Power!

In Daniel, chapter eight, we read of something that happens in the last days that made the prophet Daniel sick when he saw it. His exact words as found in Daniel 8:27 are as follows: "And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days, afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it." The prophet Daniel also described the part of the vision that made him sick in Daniel 8:23-25 as follows: "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand."

During these end times, forces of peace have been rising up, but they always bring destruction. President Bush continually talks about peace, but he leaves a trail of destruction, or as he calls it: "shock and awe", behind him. Now we hear from Hillary Clinton, who is running like mad to become the next President of the United States, that she plans to appoint her husband, the would-be First Gentleman, Ambassador to the World. (23) This is the same Hillary Clinton that applauded the June 2007 Gay Pride parades and celebrations that took place in nearly every major city of the world. (24) The Associated Press also reported that the Gay Pride parade in New York City was actually led by "Christians, Jews, and Buddhists." (25)

The dark forces have chosen July 2007 to manifest intense witchcraft in the form of Harry Potter activities. On July 11th, 2007, the latest Harry Potter movie hit the theaters and set attendance records worldwide. On July 20th, 2007, the seventh Harry Potter book hits the bookstores at midnight, exactly eleven days before the witches' high cross-quarter sabat of Lughnasaid, the witches' harvest festival also known as Lammas. Aside from the fact that Harry Potter books and movies are real spellbinding forms of witchcraft, they are also blasphemous. There is speculation that in the final Harry Potter book, entitled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter dies. Harry Potter fans everywhere are saying, "If Harry Potter dies, it is so others can live." (26) Have our churches traded-in the Lord Jesus Christ and the true Gospel for Harry Potter and his magic?

We are seeing such a fascination for the occult, and Wicca is now the fastest growing religion in the United States. In Washington County, Wisconsin, just before the high cross-quarter sabat of Beltaine, the sheriff's department found thirteen dead goats dumped along the roadside. (27) Another outrageous example of occultism is the traveling exhibition already viewed in museums by over twenty million people, which is called Body Worlds. It is a grotesque and macabre display of real human bodies that are preserved by a plasticizing process. The shows include a man flipping over on a skateboard, a flayed man holding his skin, and an eighth-month pregnant woman and her fetus. All are real corpses and body parts -- about twenty in all. (28) It is a sick world!

Yet another form of witchcraft that will eventually be in every home that has a television involves a new control device for televisions that works without a remote control unit. The control device reads hand signals and turns the television on and off, changes channels, and performs other functions; all activated by signals from the right hand. I quickly recognized the hand signals as the same ones used in witchcraft and the occult! (29)

Even the Wind and the Sea Obey Him!

Certainly judgment cannot be far off! We are seeing many signs of it already and on a continuing basis. On May 18th, 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey reported that a large piece of East Lae'apuki in Hawaii collapsed and broke off from the island. The piece was twenty-three acres in size. (30) On June 13th, 2007, a strong earthquake rocked Guatemala City, causing buildings to sway and terrified people to run for their lives. The quake was a magnitude 6.8 on the Richter scale. (31) On June 13th, the Washington Post reported that the famous Jefferson Memorial is sinking on its eighteen-acre site in Washington, D.C. The 32,000 ton memorial has already sunk nearly six inches in places and experts say there is real trouble ahead. (32) The earth is doing strange things and is opening its mouth and swallowing things. On June 21st, the witches' sabat of Midsummer, a twelve-acre lake in Chile was swallowed up and disappeared, leaving nothing but a large fissure. (33)

Disasters are widespread, and in the United States nearly every state is suffering from severe drought, fires, or floods; including severe record-setting weather. On June 25th, California officials declared a state of emergency in the Lake Tahoe area. A massive fire was burning out of control, and four square miles of raging flames destroyed 225 homes and buildings. The entire lake was covered with a layer of ash, and it was as if hell had been raised to devour the area. (34)

In President Bush's home state of Texas, widespread flooding inundated entire villages and towns as violent storms and deluges of rain sequentially pounded a large area of the state. Kansas and other areas also suffered from as much as eighteen inches of rain overnight. Roads were closed and mass evacuations were common. (35)

In Utah, massive fires began to break out, and since much of the western United States is drought-stricken and dry, more trouble is expected. In fact, the massive fires in Utah that have burned over sixty-two square miles are expected to burn all summer. One-third of the Ashley National Forest has been completely charred and destroyed. (36)

The U.S. Geological Survey has reported 301 major earthquakes of over 4.0 in magnitude in the past thirty days. I am writing this newsletter on July 16th, 2007, and I just heard the news that a major earthquake hit Japan. The 6.8 magnitude quake flattened hundreds of homes and other buildings, and it tore fissures three-feet wide in the earth. Smoke and fire were everywhere, and the nuclear reactors at a large atomic power plant were damaged and poured radioactive water into the Sea of Japan. (37) Strong aftershocks continued all day, and then a second 6.8 magnitude quake hit, causing further damage and widespread panic. (38)

It is clearly not a matter of if the end is coming, but rather when will the end come? I believe in the return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, because the Bible tells me so, but I also see the reality of that promise every day; in every sign foretold by our soon-coming King of kings. Will you be ready to stand before Him? Have you obeyed the everlasting Gospel? Where will you spend eternity?

In closing, I once again want to personally thank all of you who support this end time prophetic ministry. For twenty-six years we have been sounding the trumpet, and we will continue to do it as long as God gives us the ability. We continue to welcome your prayer requests, and each one will receive individual attention. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Acknowledgements

01. Associated Press, Jul. 9, 2007, by Andrew Taylor, Washington, D.C.
02. Reuters News Service, Jul.12, 2007, Baghdad, Iraq.
03. Financial Times, Jul. 8, 2007, by Andrew Ward, Wshington, D.C.
04. Reuters News Service, Jul. 7, 2007, Paris, France.
05. Financial Times, Jul. 6, 2007, by Demein Savastopulo, Washington, D.C.
06. Associated Press, Jul. 16, 2007, by Robert Burns, Baghdad, Iraq.
07. Associated Press, Jul. 15, 2007, by Charles J. Hanley, Balad Air Base, Iraq.
08. Associated Press, Jul. 9, 2007, by Bushra Juhi, Baghdad, Iraq.
09. Jerusalem Post, Jul. 2, 2007, by Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem, Israel.
10. New York Times, Jul. 15, 2007, by Andrew E. Kramer and Thom Shanker, Moscow, Russia.
11. Sun Newspaper, Jun. 26, 2007, by Tom Newton Dunn, London, England, U.K.
12. Reuters News Service, Jul. 2, 2007, by Parisa Hafezi, Assalouyeh, Iran.
13. Associated Press, Jul. 2, 2007, by Ben Feller, Washington, D.C.
14. Associated Press, May 29, 2007, by Holly Ramer, Manchester, NH.
15. Breitbart TV, Jul. 13, 2007, Washington, D.C.
16. Associated Press, Jul. 13, 2007, by Matthew Lee, Washington, D.C.
17. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jun. 16, 2007, Milwaukee, WI.
18. Daily Express, Jun. 15, 2007, by Geoff Marsh, London, England, U.K.
19. San Francisco Chronicle, Feb. 9, 2007, by Christoph Bals, San Francisco, CA.
20. Wikipedia Encyclopedia, Childhood and Heritage of Adolf Hitler.
21. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Sep. 18, 2005, Frankfurt, Germany.
22. Wikipedia Encyclopedia, Valkyrie.
23. Associated Press, Apr. 21, 2007, by Mike Glover, Marshalltown, IA.
24. Staten Island Advance, Jun. 3, 2007, by Frank Donnelly and Deborah Young, New York, NY.
25. International Herald Tribune, Jun. 24, 2007, New York, NY.
26. USA Today, Jul. 5, 2007, Gannett News Service.
27. West Bend News, Apr. 28, 2007, by Mitch Maersch, West Bend, WI.
28. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Apr. 21, 2007, by Steve Schultze, Milwaukee, Wi.
29. London Daily Mail, Jul. 14, 2007, by David Derbyshire, London, England, U.K.
30. Honolulu Advertiser, May 18, 2007, by Christie Wilson, Honolulu, HI.
31. Reuters News Service, Jun. 13, 2007, by Mica Rosenberg, Guatemala City, Guatemala.
32. Washington Post, Jun 16, 2007, by Michael E. Ruane, Washington, D.C.
33. Reuters News Service, Jun 20, 2007.
34. Associated Press, Jun 25, 2007, by Aaron C. Davis, Meyers, CA.
35. Associated Press, Jul. 2, 2007, by Steve Brisendine, Osawatomie, KS.
36. The Press Association, Jul. 4, 2007.
37. Associated Press, Jul. 16, 2007, by Koji Sasahara, Kashiwazaki, Japan.
38. Reuters News Service, Jul. 16, 2007, Washington, D.C.


-------
Are all of the above information real facts or are most of them fictions? Are they ammunitions from some "enemy", or are they some real hard stuffs to ponder about? How remarkable what right to freedom of expression can provide to anyone who wish to avail of it.

[1 John 4:1-6] Beloved, don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit who doesn't confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not of God doesn't listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.