The Prophecy Update Newsletter - 10/31/24

News & Information for the End Times

Oct 31, 2024

ISRAEL AT WAR!!! Day 390 - PRAY!!!

Pray For Israel — Psalm 122:6-8, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee."

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In Today’s Newsletter…

Purposes of Predictive Prophecy - (Part 1)
What Does It Mean to Be 'Woke'?
Prophecy Update Videos
Recommended Reading
Deconstructing Samhain
Do You Know the Real History of Halloween?
Daily Jot: The horror of Harris’ view on genocide
Daily Devotion: Enjoy Life
Prophecy Update News Headlines

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Purposes of Predictive Prophecy - (Part 1)

By Layton Talbert - https://www.proclaimanddefend.org/2023/09/06/purposes-of-predictive-prophecy-part-1/

Why has God given revelation in the form of prophecy? And why so much? What is the goal of prophecy? Or are there multiple intended effects? A number of passages answer these questions. The answers are surprisingly diverse. Some passages corroborate what many interpreters emphasize about the purpose of prophecy. Other passages emphasize answers that are actually minimized by some interpreters.

Neither the passages nor the purposes listed below are exhaustive. I think it is safe to say, however, that the following list of passages and purposes represents the leading lines of thought and reflects the major categories of purpose for the giving of predictive prophecy.

Gospel of John

Jesus repeatedly told His disciples what would happen to Him and to them—His betrayal by one of the company (13:19), His imminent departure from them (14:29), and their future persecution and martyrdom (16:4). All of these qualify as prophecy because they are future events. They are also profoundly disturbing, unexpected, traumatic events. But He also explained to them why He was telling them these things ahead of time: that “ye may remember that I told you” (16:4) and that “ye may believe” (13:19; 14:29). The point is not merely to impress them with His remarkable foresight, but to feed their faith in His knowledge of and control over their future—even the most inexplicable and chaotic events.

John records one of the most remarkable examples of this principle in action. Jesus’ first cleansing of the temple provoked a demand for a sign to demonstrate His authority for such extraordinary actions and claims. In response, Jesus challenged His detractors, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (2:19). The Jews, misconstruing His meaning, scoffed. But John explains that Jesus was referring to the “temple” of His own body (2:21)—a metaphor used elsewhere in the Bible. John then explains that after Jesus’ resurrection, “his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said” (2:22).

Corinthians

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul concludes his lengthy discussion of resurrection (a future and therefore prophetic subject) with an exhortation designed to spur believers to confident action: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58). In other words, the prophesied fact of our future resurrection and transformation (as well as Christ’s kingdom victory) is intended to compel us to poised and purposeful service to Christ—to foster the sturdy spirit and confident expectation with which Christians may face every day.

On a related note, Paul offers a rationale that prompts an adjustment to our priorities and motives in our daily choices and actions. “We labour,” Paul writes, “that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him” (2 Cor. 5:9). Why? Not only because of what precedes, but also because of what follows: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (5:10). That is, we make it our aim, our ambition, to be pleasing to Christ because of the certain prospect of His future evaluation of how we have lived our lives in these bodies.

In other words, these prophecies are designed to create a potentially radical shift in how and why we live the way we do. They compel us to loyal service (1 Cor. 15:58) that is always consciously aimed at pleasing Christ (2 Cor. 5:9).

Thessalonians

The Thessalonian epistles are known among Paul’s writings as the eschatological epistles because a prophetic outlook dominates both letters. In 1 Thessalonians we may immediately think the famous rapture passage in chapter 4; actually, however, all five chapters of 1 Thessalonians begin and end with a reference to some aspect of the Second Coming of Christ. Two of the three chapters in 2 Thessalonians are dominated by eschatological issues.

Connected to some of these more extended prophetic teachings are express statements of the intended purpose or effect of these prophecies. The lengthy passage on details of Christ’s Second Coming in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11 is punctuated from beginning to end with an express intention: comfort and edification (4:13, 18; 5:11). An understanding of these events—including not only Paul’s assertion of their certainty but his careful explanation of their sequence—is designed to furnish grounds for comfort amid sorrow (4:13–18) and suffering (5:1–11). Comfort and confidence amid suffering and persecution are the design attached to Paul’s discussion of the return of Christ in 2 Thessalonians 1:7–10 as well.

Pastorals

In 2 Timothy 3:16, 17 Paul famously asserts the value of the OT in its entirety as essential for the growth and maturity of the NT believer. The specific value Paul attaches to such Scripture is that it furnishes both doctrinal and practical instruction necessary for a well-equipped believer. Although he does not mention prophecy directly, the fact that prophecy constitutes a significant portion of the OT means that what is true of “all Scripture” is true of prophecy as well.

Hebrews

We know Hebrews 11 as the “faith” chapter. Think about that for a moment. “Faith” is about clinging to a word from God in spite of all appearances to the contrary. In the chapter’s catalog of faith-filled followers of God, each OT saint mentioned is memorialized for acting on the basis of some as-yet unseen promise from God. Think about that for a moment. A promise is a prophecy—an assurance from God of something that has not yet happened (and in many cases looked very unlikely to happen) but that God says will happen. Hebrews 11 is a series of case studies in the impact and effect of such prophetic promises (or promissory prophecies). Let’s briefly consider several examples.

In 11:7 Noah, warned of apparently unlikely (because unprecedented) events, responded contrary to appearances or precedent. His response is described as a condemning contrast to those who disbelieved and one that made him an heir of a righteousness that is by faith. In other words, prophecy differentiates believers from unbelievers and give us opportunity to display faith in God’s character via faith in God’s words.

In 11:8–16, note the repetition of the word “promise” four times (11:9, 11, 13). Again, “promise” in this context is a form of prophecy. Abraham believed God’s promise of an inheritance and acted on it: he “sojourned in the land of promise” as did his son and grandson, who were “heirs . . . of the same promise.” Though Sarah’s initial response to God’s promise of a son was less than believing, she was strengthened for childbirth even at her advanced age because “she judged him faithful who had promised” (11:11). And though all of these patriarchs “died in faith, not having received the promises”—i.e., actually inheriting all the land God had promised—they were nevertheless “persuaded of them, and embraced them” and lived in light of them. So what was the effect of these prophecy-promises? Prophecy creates the opportunity to demonstrate our belief in larger unseen realities simply because God says they are so (or will be so).

One of my favorites is found in Hebrews 11:17–19. Note again the reference to the prophetic promise (v. 17). The initial answer to God’s promise was Isaac himself. Now God calls on Abraham to destroy that crucial link to the rest of God’s promises (11:18). If Isaac dies, there will be no inheritance to Abraham’s seed as promised, because there will be no seed to receive the promised inheritance. We know that Abraham obeyed anyway. But 11:19 opens an inspired window into Abraham’s reasoning. Abraham could imagine God doing something utterly inexplicable and unprecedented before he could believe that God would fail to do exactly what He had promised. Abraham’s instinct here is hermeneutically instructive. His instinct was not to change his interpretation of God’s prophetic promise. He did not assume that God must have actually meant something else when He promised a physical son by Sarah and a literal land inheritance. He did not conclude that perhaps Isaac would only represent a spiritual seed, or that the inheritance God promised to Abraham’s seed must actually be only a heavenly inheritance. Instead, his instinct was to hang on doggedly to the apparent literal intent of God’s exact words and to assume that somehow God would still do exactly what He’d said. This remarkable example suggests that one of the effects, even purposes, of prophecy is to test our sanctified ingenuity in defending the reliability of God’s promises—our willingness to believe the unprecedented and even improbable before we would believe that God must not have meant exactly what He said as He chose to say it.

1 Peter 1:10–16

Even the prophets themselves ruminated on their own prophecies, turning them over in their minds, examining (ereunaō, same as John 5:39) both their content (“searching what”) as well as the timing (“or what manner of time”). In other words, one of the functions of prophecy is to prompt personal study and investigation in the ways and purposes of God. Verse 12 makes the additional point that prophecy is intended not merely (and in some cases not even primarily) for the prophets’ contemporaries but to minister to later generations of believers (“not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister”). Finally, verses 13–16 indicate that one of the functions of prophecy is to stimulate diligence, sobriety, hope, and personal transformation.

2 Peter 3:1–18

In the context of mentioning the words of the prophets (3:2) and the promise of Christ’s coming (3:4), Peter’s point in 3:8, 9 is twofold: (1) God’s seeming delay in bringing to pass the prophesied eschatological events gives men opportunity to repent, but even more basic than that is the fact that (2) the prophecy itself alerts men to what is coming and is designed to elicit repentance. Peter immediately extends that “ethical function” of such prophecy to motivate believers to holy living and godly priorities (3:10–14; cf. 1 John 3:2, 3). Having focused his readers’ attention on the prophesied coming of Christ (3:4), the day of the Lord (3:10), the destruction of the present earth and heavens (3:10–12), and the creation of a new earth and heavens (3:13), Peter says that knowing these things ahead of time should stabilize believers against the influence of false teaching and spur them to ongoing growth in the truth (3:17, 18).

Just this brief survey of some of the functions and purposes of predictive prophecy mentioned in the NT indicates that, far from being marginalized as uncertain or insignificant, God intends prophecy to have a profound and variegated impact on His people as well as unbelievers.

What Does It Mean to Be 'Woke'?

By Tyler O'Neil - https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=7468

"Woke." You keep using that word, but I don't think it means what you think it means.

A new survey shows that while most Americans think they know what "woke" means, they don't actually have a firm grasp of the concept behind the term. I'd argue that the definition in my forthcoming book, "The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government," best encapsulates the real meaning and that most Americans do not support woke policies.

But what do Americans think?

Scott Rasmussen's RMG Research surveyed 1,000 registered voters online last week, weighting the sample to make it more representative of Americans as a whole. The survey's margin of error is plus-or-minus 3.1 percentage points.

Identifying as Woke

Most respondents (77%) said they know what it means to be woke, and 41% of those who say they know what it means to be woke also identified themselves as woke. Half of those who said they know also said they don't identify as woke (50%).

Self-identified Democrats (63%) proved more likely to call themselves woke than independents (43%) or Republicans (24%), while Republicans (72%) proved more likely to say they were not woke than independents (38%) and Democrats (25%).

When asked if they would approve of a woke political candidate, more respondents said they would have a favorable view (42%) than an unfavorable one (38%), but many said they were unsure (21%). Those who identified as woke unsurprisingly proved more likely to prefer a woke candidate (81%). Democrats (60%) proved more likely to say they would favor a woke candidate, while Republicans proved more likely to view a woke candidate unfavorably (61%), and independents were split between favoring (40%) and not favoring (32%) such a candidate.

Institutional Racism

Respondents did not fully align with the views of critical race theory (a lens that interprets America as institutionally racist, with black people oppressed and white people oppressors), though they did agree that America has systemic racism.

Most respondents said the United States was founded on "the ideals of freedom, equality, and self-governance" (75%), rather than on "slavery, oppression, and racism" (20%). Even most of those who called themselves woke agreed that America had a noble founding (62%), although the self-identified woke proved more likely to say America was founded on slavery (32%).

Respondents proved split on whether they thought a woke person would say America was founded on ideals (45%) or slavery (44%).

Most Republicans (87%), independents (66%), and Democrats (64%) said America was founded on ideals, while independents (31%) and Democrats (29%) proved more likely than Republicans (11%) to say America was founded on slavery.

Most respondents agreed with the statement that the United States is "a force for good in the world" (61%). Even those who identified as woke generally agreed (51%). Only 10% said America is a "force for evil," and those who identified as woke were slightly more likely to call the U.S. evil (13%). Others said America is a force neither for good, nor evil (22%), or that they were not sure (6%). Republicans (71%) proved more likely than Democrats (58%) and independents (44%) to say America is a force for good.

Many respondents (60%) said they think "there is widespread systemic racism and discrimination against minorities in America," and those who identified as woke agreed even more (87%). Fewer Republicans (40%) than independents (68%) and Democrats (83%) agreed that America has systemic racism, and younger respondents (70% of those aged 18 to 34) proved more likely to agree.

Woke Policy

While many respondents agreed with some claims of critical race theory, most of them disagreed with policies the "anti-racism" movement supports.

When asked whether the federal government should "impose new regulations requiring businesses to give preferences to minorities in hiring and promotions," most (56%) said no, while only 31% said yes. Those who identified as woke proved more likely to favor such affirmative action (59%), although about a quarter of them did not (26%). Most who did not identify as woke (81%) opposed it.

When asked "Are most white children taught racism at home?" most Americans said no (54%), while about one-third (29%) said yes. Those who identified as woke proved more likely (45%) to say white children learn to be racist at home, though many (37%) disagreed. Democrats proved slightly more likely to say white children are taught racism at home (41% yes, 39% no), while independents (47%) and Republicans (69%) mostly disagreed.

Among those who said white children are taught racism at home, a sizable minority (38%) said they would support empowering "teachers and school administrators" to "limit the role of parents in the education of their children." Respondents were more likely to oppose parental rights in this way when they identified as woke (43%).

Most respondents said they would favor "cutting taxes to spur economic growth" (75%), while only 11% said they would not favor that policy. Even those who identified as woke (81%) supported tax cuts. Most Republicans (79%), independents (85%), and Democrats (69%) also supported tax cuts.

Republicans (46%) proved more likely than independents (26%) and Democrats (16%) to say that people who are woke oppose tax cuts.

Most respondents (73%) opposed allowing biological males who identify as women to compete in women's sports, while only 16% supported it. Even most of those who identified as "woke" (53%) opposed males in women's sports, while only 31% supported it.

Most respondents said that someone who is woke would support allowing males in women's sports (53%), while a sizable minority (29%) disagreed. Those who identified as woke were less likely to say the woke support males in women's sports (42%).

What Does Woke Mean?

While "woke" is the past tense passive form of the verb "to awaken," it came to be associated with racial politics after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014 and amid the Black Lives Matter movement. Black Lives Matter activists used it to describe themselves as having woken up to reality.

It has become a catchall term for the Left's ideology, and I define it as encompassing four different ideas: critical race theory, gender ideology, climate alarmism, and a preference for technocratic government.

Woke activists believe that America is institutionally racist, was founded on slavery, and needs fundamental reform, if not a full revolution and overhauling of the current system. They also view America as oppressing various groups--racial minorities, women, LGBTQ people, and others. They support transgender policies, from allowing males to compete in women's sports to placing male convicts in women's prisons. They also believe that the burning of fossil fuels is changing earth's climate and requires immediate action to save the planet.

Finally, woke activists support bureaucratic solutions to each of these alleged problems. Ibram X. Kendi, one of the leading figures in the "anti-racism" movement, called for an "Anti-Racist Constitutional Amendment" that would "establish and permanently fund the Department of Anti-racism (DOA) comprised of formally trained experts on racism and no political appointees."

This federal department "would be responsible for preclearing all local, state and federal public policies to ensure they won't yield racial inequity, monitor those policies, investigate private racist policies when racial inequity surfaces, and monitor public officials for expressions of racist ideas."

Kendi's amendment would also empower this agency to discipline "policymakers and public officials who do not voluntarily change their racist policy and ideas."

According to critical race theory, "racist ideas" can run the gamut from true racism (believing people are inherently inferior due to their skin color) to a preference for virtues like timeliness and a work ethic. In 2020, the National Museum of African American History and Culture published an infographic presenting various aspects of Western culture--including the nuclear family, science, capitalism, and even competition, writing, politeness, and a work ethic--as part of an oppressive "whiteness" that must be rejected.

Portland, Oregon, activist Lilith Sinclair said that "black and indigenous communities" have to fight "colonized thought" among themselves. As examples of "colonized thought," she mentioned Christianity and the "gender binary."

The Elite 1%

Most Americans do not agree with this ideology, but it has broad purchase among a population Scott Rasmussen describes as the elite 1%. People who make more than $150,000 a year, live in densely populated areas, and have postgraduate degrees are overwhelmingly liberal and tend to favor more woke policies, according to research from Rasmussen's Napolitan News Service. The elite 1% give President Joe Biden an 82% approval rating, compared to his 40% average from the rest of Americans.

Rasmussen's polling found that Americans in the elite 1% are far more likely to support transgender policy, to support government crackdowns on disinformation, to trust government agencies over voters and elected representatives, and favor climate regulations.

A vast majority (77%) of the elite 1% support rationing of the private use of gas, meat, and electricity, while 63% of voters oppose such rationing. Elites favor banning gas-powered cars (72%), gas stoves (69%), and private air conditioning (53%), while voters heavily oppose such measures.

These elites likely support the Left's infiltration of the federal government. My book, "The Woketopus," explains how the Left's dark money network funds woke nonprofits that staff and advise federal agencies.

It explains how climate alarmist groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club collude with bureaucrats to tighten restrictions on oil and gas. It reveals how the Human Rights Campaign essentially wrote a transgender blueprint that the Biden-Harris administration followed. It exposes the labor unions who help fund other woke groups and pushed the administration to crack down on Americans' freedom to work as independent contractors.

"Woke" is an inherent part of "The Woketopus," and I'd argue that my definition helps reveal exactly what the ideology is, and why it's dangerous for America.

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Deconstructing Samhain

Gary McKibben - https://www.rev310.net/post/deconstructing-samhain

The Bible instructs us not to partake in the worship of other deities. This is the sin that caused the fall of Solomon, and the power behind the err of Balaam. Yet to this day, believers have given themselves over to worship through passivity under the guise of ignorance.

Now I say this with love and grace, as the idiom goes ‘You don’t know what you don’t know.’ Yet I think that when one opens their understanding to the extent of our spiritual battle that is in occurrence daily. Then we can perhaps grasp that the enemies’ tactics are voluminous. He wants continually to usurp worship away from God, away from the glory of heaven Jesus our lord and saviour.

The growth of neo-paganism is perhaps a reflection of the corporate churches’ ambivalence to all things dark, and the non-engagement in spiritual warfare. Paganism, Wicca, and the like have grown exponentially in the last few years. The old festival of lighting the fires at the hill of ward every Samhain (Halloween) has re-emerged. Wicca is outpacing Christianity, satanism in the last UK census saw a growth of 156% whilst Christianity and certainly church attendance is on the wane.

I believe this is prophetic, marking the emergence of polytheism as a prelude to the soon-to-come formalized Harlot of Babylon's false religious system.

In a recent discussion with Zak Spiro, we both agreed that this was largely a result of compromise in the church. The church is called not to embrace the system of the world but rather to be sanctified, set apart from it.

In this short article, I want to look at some of the key elements behind Samhain or Halloween from an Irish historical and mythological perspective, in order to encourage lovingly Christians to de-entangle themselves from the neo-paganism, that has infiltrated many bodies and denominations.

The Birth of Samhain

I have heard quite a few Christian teachers try to downplay the pagan association of this holiday. Claiming the only evidence, we have for this, is based on 9th Century writing and in their opinion after the fact. Yet the issue here is stark and should not be ignored. Formalized writing wasn’t adopted in Ireland until the 7th century and as such this would mean historically 9th century written accounts should not be seen as after the fact. On top of this, we know through archaeological evidence that the Hill of Ward the religious mound of Ireland in pre-Christian times, put a major emphasis on this holiday (summer's end or Samhain) and the Hill of Tara which each year at sunrise on Samhain sees that the ancients had positioned the megalithic structure in line with the sunrise on this date.

In fact, this lighting up of the megalithic space behind the mound of hostages on the hill of ward is seen to be an event associated with a pagan god called Lugh. Lugh who Julius Caesar identified as Mercury, a planet the ancient Greeks often associated with the being Apollo. Apollo who is mentioned in Revelation 9 as Apollyon or in second Thessalonians 2, the term perdition in Greek Apologetic. All perhaps references to this false God.

At its core, the pagan entity Lugh is seen as a savior of man. He takes on Balor the giant with the evil eye and defeats him. So, what’s wrong with that? Well, when you look closely at this entity associated with Samhain and other festivals it might shed some light, pardon the pun.

You see Lugh has his specific festival on the 1st of August coincidentally close perhaps to the end of the Hebrew month Tammuz. Tammuz is referred to in Ezekiel 8 as the object of jealousy. The son of Nimrod and Semiramis appears in ancient biblical history as a personification of the attempt of the enemy to replace Christ with an alternative, a pseudo-Christ or anti-Christ. In fact, in Irish mythology, the same festival is seen as having connection with Crum Dobh an entity later identified as a devil type. So, Lugh and Crom dubh are connected in date. Crom Dubh is seen by some as the deity of Samhain. In that, he is one who seeks to trade with man, and his currency is souls.

In this way Lugh ‘light’ I believe is synonymous with an anti-Christ type hero who comes on the scene as a Mr Fixit. Crom Dobh seeks to trade for the souls of man and both these entities relate to Samhain or Halloween.

The Horned God

The Cernuous or the horned God also known as the green man is connected with paganism as perhaps the oldest Celtic deity. He bears a striking resemblance to the Greek figure Pan. A figure who it would seem that Jesus infers as an entity of hell. In Matthew 16 when Peter has the revelation of who Jesus is, Jesus replies with ‘Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. This statement was made at Caesarea Phillipi at the foot of Mt Hermon at a place known colloquially as the gates of hell. This was in fact the cave of Pan.

On Samhain eve it is said that the horned deity walks through the forest and leaves a trail for others to follow. Friends we are told to follow Christ, even passive participation in Samhain and pagan holidays is giving permission of sorts for other spirits to lead and at least ignorance-based following.

The Morrigan

The Morrigan is the tripartite Phantom Queen. She is the deity of battle and strife and most probably the root of the Irish death demon the banshee! The Morrigan is associated with Halloween and the Oweynagat the cave of cats, the Irish gates of hell seen by many as the birthplace of Halloween. The Morrigan is, I believe the early example of the tripartite witch goddess (the crone, the mother, and the maiden) embraced in wicca. However, I believe she is an example of something more. I believe she is a personification of the Harlot of Babylon, perhaps dating back to the original Babylonian harlot Semiramis.

Every Samhain the head of the Tuatha De ‘The god tribe of Ireland’ The people who taught magic, and metallurgy to the natives. The god tribe said to have (according to the Book of Invasions) descended from the clouds upon the Island in flying ships. Dagda the head of this tribe, who I think you are hard-pressed not to see as fallen angels or bene Ha Elohim, was also a storm God!

Like Baal Hadad, Zeus, etc. On Samhain, this false storm god (perhaps Baal) would have intercourse with the Morrigan. A picture of the dragon and the harlot perhaps?

Traditions

Trick or Treating

We can get caught up looking at little trails trying to find the origin of this, but the truth is Trick, or treating was not a thing in Ireland as it is now. When I grew up, we never asked for sweets, the common phrase was ‘Any money for Halloween ‘and the reason for this is that it was initially a tax.

A Tax of the dreaded Fomorians (the giant race) in my belief Nephilim. This tax also shows its demonic roots. The Fomorians would appear at Samhain eve and demand a payment of 2/3rd of three items. The figure 2/3rd is perhaps in someway a reflection of the amount of the deficiency of the fallen host of heaven. In that 1/3rd fell with Satan, or perhaps you can see the connection when converted to percentage 66.6%?

Perhaps you think I am being too hard-lined in regard to the dangers of trick or treating and the source of this, but let’s go further. The term for moiré in Irish is the Irish word for ‘demons. Considering I would argue that it was the souls of the disembodied giants /Nephilim who became the Rephaim (disembodied spirits) and hence the demons, then perhaps there is a bit more weight to the dangers of this practice. I think the demonic roots are made evident though in the tax itself. 2/3rds of corn 2/3rds of milk and 2/3rd of the children.

You see at its root this Pagan practice highlighted on both the wiccan and satanic calendars is rooted in trade! Ezekiel 28 tells us in regard to lucifer that in his heart was found the abundance of trade. This is not something a Christian need to be involved in. We don’t trade with spirits, when we do so we are effectively disobeying Ephesians 4:27 ‘Give no foothold to the devil’ The enemy looks to trade, and this is what this is all about. Trade your sanctification for compromise and your light dwindles under the effects of the darkness. Light has no communion with darkness.

I will finish with this.

There is a story of the Dullhalin the headless horseman in Irish mythology. The emergence of this entity upon the plain was a result of a trade gone wrong. The myth goes that an old Irish Chieftain made a deal with Crom Dobh, in return for a bountiful harvest, he promised this devil 200 souls. However, after the harvest was bountiful, he was introduced to a new religion, namely Christianity in legend through the teachings of St Patrick. He realized that this God requires no sacrifice, no trade only gives freely so he defaulted on the deal, leading the Crom Dubh or devil to send his rider to collect what he was owed.

The lesson here we don’t trade with darkness, we don’t submit out of fear, fun, or ignorance to other entities as this is worship. We as the church are to remain as salt and light and be sanctified onto Jesus and the kingdom of heaven.

Pastor Gary Mckibben

Victory Church,

Belfast North Ireland

Do You Know the Real History of Halloween?

by Michael Snyder - https://endoftheamericandream.com/do-you-know-the-real-history-of-halloween/

Most people gleefully celebrate Halloween without ever thinking about how it originated or what our Halloween traditions really mean. They just assume that it must be okay since almost everyone else is doing it. Today, Halloween is celebrated all over the world, but that hasn’t always been the case. In fact, there was a time when most Americans did not celebrate it. It was only during the 20th century that it actually became a nationwide holiday that was celebrated on a widespread basis, and only within the past few decades has it really taken off as a truly global holiday.

To find the original roots of Halloween, one must go back approximately 2,000 years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain…

Halloween’s original roots trace back to Samhain (pronounced “sow-in”—because of course the Celts couldn’t make it easy), an ancient Celtic festival that marked the end of the harvest season in Ireland. The Celts believed that on October 31st, the boundary between the living and the dead became, shall we say, a little thin. To keep any wandering spirits at bay, they’d light massive bonfires and don costumes—probably doubling as a solid excuse for some much-needed group bonding (what else was there to do in ancient Ireland, really?).

This is where the tradition of “Halloween costumes” began.

Some revelers apparently wore costumes to ward off spirits, but others apparently wore them “to allow for communication with the spirit world”…

Besides the reasons given above, Halloween masks and costumes were used to hide one’s attendance at pagan festivals or—as in traditional shamanism (mediated by a witch doctor or pagan priest) and other forms of animism—to change the personality of the wearer to allow for communication with the spirit world. Here, costumes could be worn to ward off evil spirits. On the other hand, the costume wearer might use a mask to try to attract and absorb the power of the animal represented by the mask and costume worn. According to this scenario, Halloween costumes may have originated with the Celtic Druid ceremonial participants, who wore animal heads and skins to acquire the strength of a particular animal.

Today, some of the most popular Halloween costumes are of ghosts, witches, vampires and fallen angels.

But most people are entirely convinced that there is absolutely no danger in dressing up as such entities.

According to the History Channel, during Samhain the Celts would also “burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities”…

In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes.

That is quite alarming.

And there are also some ancient documents that indicate that humans were often sacrificed in massive Samhain fires as well…

According to old documents, in its most primitive guise, Samhain would have featured many sacrifices to the Celtic gods of death, with both animals and humans thrown in to huge firepits as offerings.

People claimed the ancient Druids ate their first born children on Samhain, or collected the blood of their sacrificial humans in cauldrons and drank it.

But nobody does such things anymore, right?

Well, Pastor John Ramirez says that when he was a practicing Satanist he actually participated in the sacrifice of animals on Halloween…

Ramirez, now a pastor, knows all about the dark reality of Halloween. He once sacrificed animals as part of satanic rituals and his friends even knew him as “Lucifer’s son.”

Now as a born again believer, he strongly warns Christians against celebrating Halloween and participating in harvest festivals.

“The only harvest we should celebrate is the harvest of souls,” he adds.

Those that are obsessed with spiritual darkness take these things very seriously.

Many of them even still call this holiday “Samhain” even though most of us call it Halloween.

So how did it come to be called Halloween?

Well, it all started when the Celts were invaded by the Roman Empire…

However, when the Roman Empire took over the majority of the Celtic region, two ancient Roman festivals merged with the festival of Samhain over the 400 years the Romans occupied the territory. These festivals were Feralia, a day honoring the dead, and a day celebrating Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees who is primarily symbolized with an apple.

It was not until roughly the 9th through 11th centuries when early Christianity was spreading throughout the Celtic territory that we finally obtained the name we all know and love. The Christian (specifically Catholic) holiday of All Saints’ Day was very similar to the festival of Samhain with bonfires and costumes, though it was celebrated in early November. It was also called All-Hallows and the festival of Samhain—celebrated the night before—became known as All-Hallows Eve and eventually Halloween.

From that time forward, “Halloween” was primarily a Catholic celebration.

That is why the Puritans that settled in early America were steadfastly against it. The following comes from Wikipedia…

Lesley Bannatyne and Cindy Ott write that Anglican colonists in the southern United States and Catholic colonists in Maryland “recognized All Hallow’s Eve in their church calendars”,[141][142] although the Puritans of New England strongly opposed the holiday, along with other traditional celebrations of the established Church, including Christmas.[143] Almanacs of the late 18th and early 19th century give no indication that Halloween was widely celebrated in North America.[26]

It was not until after mass Irish and Scottish immigration in the 19th century that Halloween became a major holiday in America.[26] Most American Halloween traditions were inherited from the Irish and Scots,[27][144] though “In Cajun areas, a nocturnal Mass was said in cemeteries on Halloween night. Candles that had been blessed were placed on graves, and families sometimes spent the entire night at the graveside”.[145] Originally confined to these immigrant communities, it was gradually assimilated into mainstream society and was celebrated coast to coast by people of all social, racial, and religious backgrounds by the early 20th century.[146] Then, through American influence, these Halloween traditions spread to many other countries by the late 20th and early 21st century, including to mainland Europe and some parts of the Far East.[28][16][147]

Today, Halloween has become one of our biggest holidays.

In fact, it is being projected that Americans will spend more than 11 billion dollars on Halloween this year alone…

Americans are projected to spend $11.6 billion on Halloween decorations, costumes, candy and other festive purchases this October, according to an annual survey from the National Retail Federation.

When broken down, that $11.6 billion translated to $3.8 billion spent on costumes, $3.8 billion dedicated to decorations, $3.5 billion allocated to purchasing candy and $0.5 billion spent on greeting cards, per the survey.

If you can believe it, Americans even spend approximately 700 million dollars on costumes for their pets each year.

Can you believe that?

One survey found that 93 percent of Americans celebrate Halloween in some way.

Needless to say, this makes certain people very happy. The founder of the Church of Satan, Anton LaVey, once made the following statement: “I am glad that Christian parents let their children worship the devil at least one night out of the year. Welcome to Halloween.”

Like I noted earlier, most people celebrate Halloween without ever even thinking about it.

In fact, many people don’t know why they believe what they believe about most things.

If we are going to do something, we need to understand why we are doing it.

As for where Halloween originally came from, now you know the truth.

Daily Jot: The horror of Harris’ view on genocide

Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com

Kamala Harris agreeing with a pro-terrorist student during her October 17 speech at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is the first time a presidential candidate has publicly acknowledged that they believe Israel is committing genocide of Arab children. The belief is patently false and is a further projection that the leader of the Democratic Party, while saying out of one side of her mouth that Israel has the right to defend itself, but believes that Israel is committing genocide. This is disgraceful. Coupled with the Biden-Harris Administration leaking Israel’s attack plans for Iran, and the giving of over a billion dollars in US aid to Hamas since October 7, 2023, the makings of a perfect storm exist.

There is no more of a genocidal intent than Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Authority, Iran chant of “from the river to the sea.” This means that these Islamic forces and their supporters want every Jew destroyed and Israel eliminated from the face of the earth. Those who are supporting Hamas and those who elected Hamas against Israel are supporting terrorism. Moreover, they are favoring the genocide of Israel. That Kamala Harris would remotely agree with such a terrorist supporter should send chills down the spine of every freedom-loving, God-loving person on earth. There is no excuse for a person running for president of the United States to support in any way the terrorist propaganda.

A video of the exchange recorded Harris responding to the accusations of genocide by Israel. She said, “I know what you’re speaking of. I want the ceasefire. I want the war to end. And I respect your right to speak but I am speaking right now.” The pro-terrorist heckler wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh yelled back, “But what about the genocide? What about the genocide though?…19,000 children are dead, and you won’t call it a genocide,” as security escorted him away. Harris, breaking the ensuing silence, said, “Listen, what he’s talking about, it’s real. That’s not the subject that I came to discuss today, but it’s real and I respect his voice.”

Former US Ambassador to Israel told The New York Post, “Kamala Harris just publicly validated the false and vicious accusation that Israel is engaging in genocide. Many, including myself, always suspected that she held this warped, antisemitic view of Israel’s self-defense against Hamas barbarism. But the cat is now out of the bag. Her view is as ignorant as it is malign…To give credence publicly to this disgusting blood libel disqualifies Harris from holding any public office, let alone the presidency.” A person in Harris’ position ought to know better than to make these types of dangerous statements. But her whole family has been raising money for the Palestinian cause. Genesis 12:3 says of Israel, “I will bless them that bless you and curse him that curses you.” The truth is being revealed and Americans may suffer the consequences. Vote wisely.

Daily Devotion: Enjoy Life

by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org

So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun. —Ecclesiastes 8:15

https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/enjoy-life/ - Listen

Of all the misconceptions about God, one of the most unfair is that He’s a cosmic killjoy. That He regulates the fun out of everything. That we have a choice between following Him or enjoying life. But that’s just not the truth—and never has been.

God gave Adam and Eve a literal Paradise, radiant beauty at every turn, exotic wildlife, the perfect temperature, and, best of all, no sin, guilt, or shame. God said, “Here you go. Enjoy everything that I’ve created.” How many types of trees, plants, and vegetation do you suppose that included? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands? All for Adam and Eve to taste, savor, explore, and enjoy.

And in that garden full of tasty delights, how many trees, plants, or vegetation were off-limits? Only one—the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Hardly the work of a cosmic killjoy.

In His work of creation, God filled the heavens and earth with awe-inspiring beauty and wonders. He created oceans, lakes, and rivers to sail, swim, ski, scuba—and fish. He wired us with imagination so that we can create and enjoy music, literature, cinema, and more.

And for those who argue that the Lord’s instructions for godly living get in the way of “real” enjoyment, consider this: God knows the outcome of every life choice we make before we even make it. He sees clearly the paths that lead to guilt, shame, and addiction—things that eventually will make it impossible to enjoy life fully. Directing us away from those paths doesn’t make God the enemy of our enjoyment. It makes Him the perfect adviser for enjoying life to the fullest.

God also gives us access to joy that transcends circumstances. That’s why James was able to write, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy” (James 1:2 NLT). On God’s path, nothing gets in the way of joy. We have the capacity to enjoy life regardless of what’s happening in our lives. Paul and Silas sang praises to God in prison (see Acts 16:25). Job praised God after he lost everything (see Job 1:21).

The secret is to stay hopeful and thankful. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (NLT).

Being thankful for that and everything else God has done for you will make you a happier person. So savor the sunset. Enjoy your meal. Linger with family and friends. Live in the moment. Lighten up. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Criticize less. Compliment more. Enjoy life to the fullest, just as God wants you to do.

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