Author: admin

                Next week, January 10 holds the dubious distinction of being the anniversary of the convening both the League of Nations in 1920 and the United Nations in 1946.

                The League of Nations was formed in the aftermath of World War I as an attempt to bring dialogue to the nations and avoid war. Progressive U.S. President Woodrow Wilson pushed the idea, apparently believing that tyrants could be talked out of tyranny. Americans were unconvinced and never joined. Tyrants in Japan, Italy, and Germany ignored the League of Nations and it collapsed in the flames of World War II.

                After the war the League of Nations was resurrected as the United Nations. In the beginning the U.N. was somewhat successful, and even supported the formation of Israel in 1947. The U.N. also supported the Korean War against communist aggression in 1950, but only because the Russians were boycotting the U.N. when the vote was taken. Thereafter the Cold War overwhelmed most U.N. opportunities and the U.N. became largely a propaganda entity.

                The end of Colonialism and the birth of new nations brought a burst of hope to the U.N. However, most of the new nations were taken over by tyrants and the U.N. became something of a club for authoritarian governments. While the tyrants use the U.N. for their propaganda purposes, putting countries like Iran on the human rights committee is not calculated to produce any real advances in human freedom. Naturally, the tyrants oppose the freedom agendas of the U.S. and the other Democracies.

                A particular target of the authoritarian governments of the U.N. has been the democratic state of Israel. Acts of terrorism, wanton attacks on civilians by rockets, and military aggression against Israel are routinely ignored, while Israel is condemned for defending itself. Last year things got worse when the tyrant majority granted Palestinians, including terrorist Hamas, observer status. The Palestinians continue to accuse Israel of war crimes, while expecting the U.N. to gloss over their terrorist attacks and murders.

                Why do the nations rage? The Bible says that they want to throw off the restraints on their evil activities (Psalm 2:1-3). They are at war with God’s plans and purposes, especially as it relates to Israel.

                The only force consistently standing against the tyrant majority in the U.N. has been the U.S., which has a Security Council Veto. We must pray that the U.S. will continue to stand up to the tyrants and enemies of Israel.

And let us not forget to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.    

               It has been said that those who do not understand history are doomed to repeat it.

               We at Corporate Prayer Resources have found that history and its cousin archaeology are invaluable resources for the Church to draw on. That is why we have made the book Babylon: A Spiritual Journey Through Time and The Nations available.

               Over the past two centuries our knowledge of ancient history has expanded greatly. We can now verify some Biblical events with hard evidence, such as the fallen walls of Jericho. Evidence gathered from outside the Holy Land confirms the historicity of many Bible texts, such as the Assyrian failure to take Jerusalem. Science has now found that all humans have a common mother (Eve), that there was a catastrophic decrease in the human population (Noah’s Flood), and that at one time humans spoke a single language (Tower of Babel). Thus, history teaches us that we can trust in the accuracy of the Bible.

               History and the Bible teach us much about God’s dealings with humans. God judged the Egyptians by humiliating their gods, and He struck Assyria at its greatest point of pride, its army. The remains of sacrificed children found in Canaan have shed light on why God decreed the total destruction of the Canaanites. But we also find that God is merciful, as when he gave evil King Ahab a second chance after he repented. God’s ultimate act of mercy, sending us the Christ, echoes down through history as the Kingdom of God expanded throughout the Roman Empire and then throughout the earth.

               Our knowledge of the past helps us to focus our prayers by revealing the spiritual roots of the forces acting against the expansion of the Kingdom. Some years back a group of intercessors went to Ephesus to confront the pagan “Queen of Heaven”, failing in their mission because Ephesus is now controlled by the Islamic spirit, not the pagan spirit. Others have mistaken the Freemasons for a pagan institution when in fact they are dominated by the secular spirit. On the other hand, we have seen breakthroughs on prayer journeys where we have understood the history of spiritual bondage in the nations.

               Finally, understanding the past is a key to understanding Bible prophecy. For example, Daniel’s prophecy of the “70 7’s” can be traced with historical data to confirm the start of Jesus’ ministry in 26 AD. Many of the prophecies in the book of Revelation can be matched with historical events to help us understand the times we live in. One of those prophecies, The Woman Riding the Beast in Revelation chapter 17, is a picture of the history of the world from Babylon to the Antichrist, and forms the outline of our Babylon book.

               So the past is indeed a key to the future, as it confirms the Scriptures, teaches us God’s ways, shows us how to pray for the nations, and illuminates prophecy.

               Let us pray that the Lord will help us use the past to help guide our footsteps in the year to come.

               And may you have a blessed New Year.

Christmas Promises

            There are many reasons to celebrate Christmas and the advent of Christ. One of the best reasons for us is the celebration of how God kept His promises about sending Christ to Earth:

            * God promised Adam and Eve He would be born miraculously to a virgin, (Gen 3:15), and He was.

            *God promised Abraham that Christ would be a descendant of his (Gen 12:2), and He was.

            * God promised Jacob that Christ would come from the line of his son Judah (Gen 49:10), and He did.

            * God promised David that Christ would come from his Line (2 Sa 7:16), and He did.

            * God told Micah that Christ would be born in Bethlehem (Mi 5:2), and He was.

            * God told Daniel when Jesus would begin His ministry 483 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem (Da 9:25), and He did, in 26 AD.

            * God told Isaiah where Christ would begin His ministry, in Galilee (Is 9:1), and He did.

            There are over 300 of specific prophecies recorded about Jesus, His ministry, and His resurrection. All have been fulfilled, giving us confidence that God’s promises to us will also be fulfilled.

            So as we gather to thank God for the greatest Christmas present of all, Jesus Christ, let us also rest secure in the knowledge that God can be trusted to keep all of His promises.       

            That trust is the source of our peace which passes understanding.

            So have a merry, peaceful Christmas.     

            Most Christians don’t know that Christmas was set on December 25, the ancient Roman Winter Solstice date, to displace a Pagan holiday celebrating the birth of a pagan false “Seed of Woman” God. While the Winter Solstice is an important element in the Celestial signs of Christ’s Advent, He could not have been born on December 25.

            However, the birth of John the Baptist and the Star of Bethlehem give us the information we need to find the actual time of year when Christ was born. The Bible tells us that John’s father Zechariah was a member of the Priestly order of Abijah, which ministered at the Temple twice a year, eight weeks after the Spring and Fall Feasts. Zechariah was ministering in the Temple, either in late May or late November, when the angel Gabriel announced that he would have a son. John would have been conceived near either the Summer Solstice or the Winter Solstice.

            We know from the Bible that John the Baptist was six months older than Jesus, so Jesus would have been conceived on the Winter Solstice or the Sumer Solstice. His Birth would have followed nine months later on either the Fall Equinox or the Spring Equinox. Both of these dates occur near Jewish Feast Times, coming near the Feast of Tabernacles in the Fall and the Feast of Passover in the Spring.

            Enter the Star of Bethlehem, which was observed not only by the Wise Men but by the ancient Chinese astronomers as well. The Chinese date the Star of Bethlehem in the Spring of 5 BC and say that it was visible for 70 days. This would have given the Wise Men plenty of time to travel to Israel from any location in the Near East. Some think that the Wise Men took much longer to travel to Israel based on their statement to King Herod that the Celestial signs had begun two years earlier. However, our research indicates that the “Signs in the Sun, Moon, and Stars” leading to Christ’s birth actually began in 7 BC at the same time that the Angel appeared to Zechariah (See the Starbiblesociety.com Blog of 12/16/15 “The Sign of Christ’s Advent”).

            The evidence indicates that Christ was born at the time of the Spring Equinox in 5 BC. The actual date we believe to be Passover of 5BC because there was a Lunar Eclipse in the Feet of Virgo as described in Revelation Chapter 12 (See our Blog of 4/9/14 “The Blood Moon Rising”).

            So on the Ancient Roman Winter Solstice date of December 25, you’re really celebrating the beginning of the “Signs in the Sun, Moon, and Stars” in 7BC which led to Christ’s birth on Passover of 5 BC.

Merry Christmas!

Beginning last Sunday, December 6, the Hebrew feast of Hanukkah is celebrated. The feast memorializes the dedication of the Temple in 165 BC, after Antiocus IV Epiphanes attempted to stamp out the Hebrew religion. It also celebrates a miracle where a one day supply of Temple oil lasted eight days.  Thus, it is called both the “Feast of Dedication” and the “Feast of Lights”.

With the cleansing of the Temple in 165BC, the Temple and the Nation of Israel were made ready to receive the Messiah. However, it was 160 years later that He was born and 190 years later that He began His ministry. Jesus celebrated the Feast of Dedication and used the occasion to clarify that He was the Messiah while teaching in the Temple (see John 11:22-39).

This week on December 9, we mark a significant date leading to the Second Coming of

Christ. It was 98 years ago on December 9, 1917 that the Turks surrendered Jerusalem to the British. The British mandate ultimately lead to the U.N. vote to form Israel thirty years later in 1947, and to the birth of Israel in 1948. Christians all over the world saw the miraculous rebirth of Israel as preparation for the Second Coming of Christ.

Few Christians expected the return of Christ to be delayed so long after the nation of

Israel was made ready. However, if we look back to the formation of Israel in 165 BC, preparatory to the advent of Christ, then a waiting period of 160 or 190 years is not so surprising. At 98 years, if counting began in 1917 instead of 1948, we would only be half way through a 190 year wait.

Let us then pray over the Feast of Dedication and let us then remember how it made the way ready for the Messiah. The Feast of Dedication also reminds us to purify our hearts, the New Convent temple of the Holy Spirit, as the Second Temple was purified in 165 B.C.

And let us also pray that Christians do not get discouraged by the delay in Christ’s return, for no one knows the day or the hour.

Even so, come Lord Jesus

Yes, there really is a Saint Nicholas. He was a fourth century Bishop in Myra, in Asia

Minor. And he really was famous for his gift giving and his concern for the poor and for children. His feast day is this week, on December 6.

In the Middle Ages some enterprising citizens of the Italian city of Bari stole his remains and built a cathedral in his honor in Bari. Because of the importance of Saint Nicholas to both Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church, the cathedral is one of the few places in the world where Catholic and Orthodox minister under the same roof. Pilgrims of both denominations are welcome there.

When the Charismatic renewal swept through the Catholic Church, one of the leaders in Bari, Matteo Calisi, wondered if the tolerance expressed at the Saint Nicholas Cathedral could grow into real reconciliation. He and Italian Evangelical pastor Giovanni Traettino reached across the divide and began a movement which has brought Catholics and Evangelicals together throughout Italy. Over the years the reconciliation movement has reached out from Bari to Evangelicals in North and South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. In addition, the Orthodox and Messianic Jewish churches have also become involved.

One of Calisi’s major impacts was in Buenos Aires, where Cardinal Bergoglio opened the Catholic Church to reconciliation with the Protestant leaders. We now know Cardinal Bergoglio as Pope Francis, and he has continued his historic outreach to other Christian traditions. In 2014 the Pope sent a historic video to Kenneth Copeland at a Pastor’s meeting. This video can be seen on the website “unitedinchrist.net” (“Pope’s Unity Message Goes Viral”). Since then many Church leaders have met with the Pope to heal the divisions between Christians.

The reconciliation movement born in Bari seeks to bring Christians into genuine unity in our diversity. God realizes that we have different practices and beliefs, and we’re told to tolerate our brothers (see Ro14:1-4 and Ro 15:1-7). Our real unity is through Christ, for if we are each in Christ then we are also united in Christ. (see John 17:20-23).

So let us all join Christ in his prayer that we may be brought into complete unity (John 17:23).

And we need to thank Him for the gift of the reconciliation movement which was started in the Spirit of Saint Nicholas.

In the first year of the Untied States of America under its new Constitution, 226 years ago on November 26, 1789, the New Nation celebrated its first Thanksgiving.

President George Washington’s proclamation, with its emphasis on the Constitution and faithfulness to execute its laws, seems especially appropriate this year:

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection and favor . . . .

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the twenty-sixth day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these United States . . . that we then may all unite unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are now blessed. . . .

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just and constitutional laws, discretely and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord, to promote the knowledge and practice for the true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows best.

So let us follow Washington’s admonition to be thankful and prayerful this Thanksgiving.