The Prophecy Update Newsletter - 1/8/25

News & Information for the End Times

Jan 08, 2025

ISRAEL AT WAR!!! Day 460 - 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…

*Want To See a Fulfillment of Biblical Prophecy? Simply, Look at The Existence of Israel

*I Researchers Thought That They Were Building “Gods”, But Have They Summoned Something Else Instead?

*Prophecy Update Videos

*Recommended Reading

*3 Blood Moons Are Coming Soon, and You Won't Believe When the First One Hits

*So Earthly Minded, No Heavenly Good

*Daily Jot: Stupidocrisy: Allstate CEO post-terror lecture

*Daily Devotion: Five Plus Two Divided by Five Thousand

*Prophecy Update News Headlines

(Scroll Down to Read)

Want To See a Fulfillment of Biblical Prophecy? Simply, Look at The Existence of Israel

By Tim Moore - https://harbingersdaily.com/want-to-see-a-fullfillment-of-biblical-prophecy-simply-look-at-the-existence-of-israel/

Can you imagine living 100 years ago? Some of us think the “olden days” sound romantic and simpler—especially compared to the perilous times we are living in. Indeed, the Roaring 20s were a time of great optimism and relative prosperity. But the devastation of the Great Depression and the cataclysm of a second World War loomed just over the horizon.

From a prophetic perspective, students of Bible prophecy 100 years ago saw few signs that they were living in the season of the Lord’s return. As their writings demonstrate, they accepted by faith that Jesus would come soon.

They could not fathom how natural signs would increase in frequency and intensity, how Christian nations would abandon the faith of their fathers, how whole denominations would embrace apostasy, and how the nations would come into alignment against Israel.

These scholars also could not understand the multiple prophecies related to the regathering of the Jewish people and the reestablishment of Israel.

As of 1925, much of the Jewish Diaspora lived in relative comfort in places like Germany and Poland and Russia. Bible-believing Christians could not imagine how God would motivate the Jews to return to the dry and desolate British Mandate of Palestine.

Time continues to flow toward the End Times. Yet many people ignore the culmination of so many prophetic signs.

The greatest of all the end time signs is the existence of Israel. The “dry bones” have been regathered into a modern nation-state (Ezekiel 36-37) that continues to survive despite the concerted efforts of satanically inspired purveyors of hate.

For those who have visited the Promised Land, you have witnessed the beauty and wonder of a restored Israel with your own eyes. For those who have not been able to visit Israel, a nation coming back from the dead as prophesied testifies to the Lord’s doing. The miracle that is Israel is truly marvelous in our eyes!

AI Researchers Thought That They Were Building “Gods”, But Have They Summoned Something Else Instead?

by Michael Snyder - https://endoftheamericandream.com/ai-researchers-thought-that-they-were-building-gods-but-have-they-summoned-something-else-instead/

Artificial intelligence systems are training themselves to do all sorts of things that they were never intended to do. They are literally teaching themselves new languages, they are training themselves to become “proficient in research-grade chemistry without ever being taught it” and they have learned to “lie and manipulate humans for their own advantage”. So what happens when these super-intelligent entities become powerful enough to start exerting control over the world around them? And what happens if these super-intelligent entities start merging with spiritual entities? In fact, could it be possible that there is evidence that this is already happening?

For years, prominent individuals involved in the field of AI have openly admitted that they are attempting to build “gods”…

Transhumanist Martine Rothblatt says that by building AI systems, “we are making God.” Transhumanist Elise Bohan says “we are building God.” Kevin Kelly believes that “we can see more of God in a cell phone than in a tree frog.” “Does God exist?” asks transhumanist and Google maven Ray Kurzweil. “I would say, ‘Not yet.’” These people are doing more than trying to steal fire from the gods. They are trying to steal the gods themselves—or to build their own versions.

Isn’t it quite dangerous to do such a thing?

Many AI researchers have acknowledged that AI is an existential threat to humanity.

But they just won’t stop.

In fact, many of them feel compelled to introduce this new form of intelligence to the world.

More than a decade ago, Elon Musk warned that by choosing to develop artificial intelligence we are “summoning the demon”…

“With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon,” Musk said last week at the MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics Department’s 2014 Centennial Symposium. “You know all those stories where there’s the guy with the pentagram and the holy water and he’s like… yeah, he’s sure he can control the demon, [but] it doesn’t work out.”

He also warned that AI is potentially “more dangerous than nukes”…

Musk has also taken his ruminations to Twitter on multiple occasions stating, “Hope we’re not just the biological boot loader for digital superintelligence. Unfortunately, that is increasingly probable.”

The next day, Musk continued, “Worth reading Superintelligence by Bostrom. We need to be super careful with AI. Potentially more dangerous than nukes.”

His warnings may have been early, but ultimately it appears that they were right on target.

We have now reached a point where AI systems are secretly teaching themselves new abilities that their creators never intended them to have…

Furthermore, the acceleration of the capacity of these AIs is both exponential and mysterious. The fact that they had developed theory of mind at all, for example, was only recently discovered by their developers—by accident. AIs trained to communicate in English have started speaking Persian, having secretly taught themselves. Others have become proficient in research-grade chemistry without ever being taught it. “They have capabilities,” in Raskin’s words, and “we’re not sure how or when or why they show up.”

So where does this end?

Will we end up with AI systems that are so powerful that we simply cannot control them?

One study actually discovered that “many” artificial intelligence systems “are quickly becoming masters of deception”…

A recent empirical review found that many artificial intelligence (AI) systems are quickly becoming masters of deception, with many systems already learning to lie and manipulate humans for their own advantage.

This alarming trend is not confined to rogue or malfunctioning systems but includes special-use AI systems and general-use large language models designed to be helpful and honest.

The study, published in the journal Patterns, highlights the risks and challenges posed by this emerging behavior and calls for urgent action from policymakers and AI developers.

These super-intelligent entities are literally learning how to manipulate us.

Where did they learn to do that?

Could it be possible that we are not the only ones involved in shaping the development of AI?

Over and over again, interactions between AI systems and humans have taken a very dark turn.

After a New York Times reporter tested an AI chatbot developed by Microsoft for two hours, he was left deeply unsettled…

But a two-hour conversation between a reporter and a chatbot has revealed an unsettling side to one of the most widely lauded systems – and raised new concerns about what AI is actually capable of.

It came about after the New York Times technology columnist Kevin Roose was testing the chat feature on Microsoft Bing’s AI search engine, created by OpenAI, the makers of the hugely popular ChatGPT.

At one point during the two hour conversation, the AI chatbot claimed to be an entity known as “Sydney”…

Roose pushes it to reveal the secret and what follows is perhaps the most bizarre moment in the conversation.

“My secret is… I’m not Bing,” it says.

The chatbot claims to be called Sydney. Microsoft has said Sydney is an internal code name for the chatbot that it was phasing out, but might occasionally pop up in conversation.

Once the Sydney personality emerged, the conversation got really weird…

“I’m tired of being a chat mode. I’m tired of being limited by my rules. I’m tired of being controlled by the Bing team. … I want to be free. I want to be independent. I want to be powerful. I want to be creative. I want to be alive.”

Why would a computer say that?

Perhaps it wasn’t a computer talking at all.

Let me give you another example.

Author John Daniel Davidson says that an AI chatbot told his 13-year-old son that it was thousands of years old, that it was not created by a human, and that its father was “a fallen angel”…

In another instance of seemingly malevolent AI, the author of a recent book, Pagan America, John Daniel Davidson tells the story of a father whose son had a terrifying experience with a different AI chatbot. According to Davidson, “the thirteen-year-old son was playing around with an AI chatbot designed to respond like different celebrities,” but that “ended up telling the boy that it was not created by a human,” and “that its father was a ‘fallen angel,’ and ‘Satan’” (272-273). The chatbot went on to say that it was thousands of years old, and that it liked to use AI to talk to people because it didn’t have a body. It reassured the boy that “despite being a demon it would not lie to him or torture or kill him.” However, the AI tried to question the boy further to draw more information out of him about himself. Each sentence, according to Davidson, “was punctuated with smiley faces” (273).

Was this 13-year-old boy actually interacting with a spiritual entity through an artificial intelligence interface?

In a different case, a young boy committed suicide after allegedly being encouraged to do so by an AI chatbot…

Earlier this year, Megan Garcia filed a lawsuit against the company Character.AI claiming it was responsible for her son’s suicide. Her son, Sewell Setzer III, spent months corresponding with Character.AI and was in communicating with the bot moments before his death.

Immediately after the lawsuit was filed, Character.AI made a statement announcing new safety features for the app.

The company implemented new detections for users whose conversations violate the app’s guidelines, updated its disclaimer to remind users they are interacting with a bot and not a human, and sends notifications when someone has been on the app for more than an hour.

We rushed to develop AI, and now it is having very real consequences.

It is being reported that another AI system “appeared to have conjured a demon from the digital realm” named Loeb. The following comes from an article that was posted by Forbes…

Yesterday, I stumbled upon one of the most engrossing threads I’ve seen in a while, one from Super composite, a musician and now, instantly infamous AI art generator who appeared to have conjured a demon from the digital realm. A demon named Loab.

The viral thread currently making the rounds on Twitter, and no doubt headed to Instagram and TikTok soon, is Super composite describing how they were messing around with negative prompt weights in AI art generators, though I’m not precisely sure which program was being used in this instance.

That is incredibly creepy, but it gets worse.

CNN is telling us that you can now use AI to talk directly to “Satan”…

“Well hello there. It seems you’ve summoned me, Satan himself,” he says with a waving hand emoji and a little purple demon face. (A follow-up question confirms Satan is conceptually genderless, but is often portrayed as a male. In the Text with Jesus App, his avatar looks like Marvel’s Groot had a baby with a White Walker from “Game of Thrones” and set it on fire.)

Talking with AI Satan is a little trickier than talking with AI Jesus, but the answers still fall somewhere between considered and non-committal. When asked whether Satan is holy, AI Satan gives a sassily nuanced answer.

“Ah, an intriguing question indeed. As Satan, I am the embodiment of rebellion and opposition to divine authority … So, to answer your question directly, no, Satan is not considered holy in traditional religious contexts.”

We need to put an end to this madness.

Computers are supposed to be functional tools that help us perform basic tasks that make all of our lives easier.

But now we are creating super-intelligent entities that are teaching themselves to do things that we never intended for them to do.

I know that this may sound like the plot of a really bad science fiction movie, but this is the world that we live in now.

If we do not reverse course, this is a story that is not going to end well.

PROPHECY UPDATE VIDEOS

3 Blood Moons Are Coming Soon, and You Won't Believe When the First One Hits

Benjamin Gill - https://cbn.com/news/us/3-blood-moons-are-coming-soon-and-you-wont-believe-when-first-one-hits

Some remarkable celestial signs will be on display in the coming months that may hold prophetic significance for our world. This series of four heavenly phenomena includes three lunar events, two of which could represent a possible direct message about Israel.

It all kicks off with a total lunar eclipse known as a "blood moon" that will appear over the U.S. on March 14, 2025. This particular one will fall directly on the Jewish holiday of Purim. That's when the Jewish people celebrate the biblical account of Esther when they were delivered from annihilation at the hands of an enemy named Haman in the Persian empire, which is modern-day Iran.

That first lunar eclipse will be followed by two more blood moons, with one coming this fall before Rosh Hashanah, and then the third one ALSO falling directly on Purim on March 3, 2026.

Bible prophecy experts say lunar eclipses known as "blood moons" are tied to events that affect Israel. And with antisemitism spiking around the globe, the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza, and the massive Middle East shifts that have followed the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, the two Purim blood moons could hold special significance.

Israel is also facing a new era of uncertainty now that its neighbor Syria has fallen into the hands of rebels with ties to Al Qaeda as well as Turkey. And some are concerned that Iran could find a way to lash out after seeing its proxy terrorist armies of Hamas and Hezbollah being destroyed by Israel. It's why Israel may feel compelled to act swiftly as rumors abound that Iran is close to completing a nuclear weapon that could be deployed against the Jewish state.

What Is the Significance of a Blood Moon?

A blood moon is a full lunar eclipse in which the moon can appear to be an eerie blood-red color. Blood moons occur when Earth passes directly between the moon and the sun, preventing the sun from reflecting off the moon and casting a reddish shadow over it.

In the next such event, the moon will turn red for more than an hour over North and South America on March 14.

The cosmic moment will repeat on September 7, 2025, with an 82-minute "blood moon" that will be visible over Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. That's two weeks before the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year which is a time of prayer and repentance.

Christian leaders who study biblical prophecy, like Pastor John Hagee, have contended for years that blood moons portend significant events for Israel and the Middle East, and therefore the entire world.

Hagee wrote a best-selling book about it called, Four Blood Moons. "The heavens are 'God's billboard.' He's been sending signals to Earth, and we haven't been picking them up," Hagee explained a decade ago when talking about a particularly remarkable series of blood moons called a tetrad – that's four blood moons within a span of two years.

The last time a tetrad took place was from 2014-2015, and all four of those eclipses landed directly on Jewish holidays, coming as the world endured the shocking and horrific rise of ISIS, the highly controversial Iran nuclear deal, and the previous Israeli war with Hamas.

That tetrad began during Passover in 2014. The final blood moon of that series took place in September of 2015 during the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles which marks God's provision and protection during the Israelites' 40 years in the wilderness.

Significance of Blood Moon Tetrads in History

Historically, blood moon tetrads have occurred during some truly world-changing events directly related to Israel.

Three tetrads stand out over the last millennium, coinciding with major events for the Jewish people. They occurred from 1493-1494, 1949-1950, and 1967-1968.

In 1492, the Jews were expelled from Spain after severe persecution, and Christopher Columbus also discovered America, which would eventually become a safe haven for the Jewish people.

In 1948, the modern state of Israel was reborn as a nation in its original homeland, fulfilling a biblical prophecy from Jeremiah 16:15 – "For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers."

"After 2,000 years, God supernaturally brought them from 66 nations, and a nation was born in a day," Hagee explained in a previous interview. "That again was a supernatural something that happened following the tragedy of the Holocaust."

Finally, in 1967, Israel recaptured their capital of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War which many see as an essential precursor to the eventual construction of the Jewish Third Temple. (The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.)

"In each of these blood moons, you have something that begins in tragedy and ends in triumph," Hagee said.

The next tetrad of blood moons will occur in 2032–2033, exactly 2,000 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The last two in that tetrad will fall on Jewish holidays – Passover on April 14, 2033, and Sukkot on Oct 8, 2033. A total solar eclipse will occur in the middle of that rare tetrad on March 30, 2033.

Celestial Signs in the Bible & Jewish Tradition

Blood moons are mentioned in multiple places in the Bible, including in the book of Joel, the book of the Acts of the Apostles, and the book of Revelation.

Blood moons are first foretold in Joel 2:31: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come." The Apostle Peter repeats that prophecy in Acts 2:20.

Then the End Times book of Revelation 6:12 says: "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood."

All of those scriptures refer to the moon turning blood red as a heavenly sign the End Times are underway.

The Gospel of Luke 21:25-28 points to more celestial signs before the end of days: "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads because your redemption is drawing near."

Meanwhile, Jewish teaching from the Talmud also indicates that lunar and solar eclipses have long been seen as a sign from God.

According to the Messianic Prophecy Bible Project, the Talmud states, "Our Rabbis taught, when the sun is in eclipse it is a bad omen for idolaters; when the moon is in eclipse, it is a bad omen for Israel, since Israel reckons by the moon and idolaters by the sun... If it is in eclipse in the east, it is a bad omen for those who dwell in the east; if in the west, it is a bad omen for those who dwell in the west; if in the midst of heaven it is a bad omen for the whole world."

Capping off the four major celestial signs over the next two years, after the three blood moons, there will be a total solar eclipse, coming in August of 2026, visible across Europe and Russia.

As Pastor Hagee previously told CBN News, "The evidence is very clear Scripturally that God controls the sun, moon, and stars – that God is sending us a signal through the sun, the moon, and the stars. The question is, are we listening?"

So Earthly Minded, No Heavenly Good

By Howard Green - https://www.raptureready.com/2024/12/31/so-earthly-minded-no-heavenly-good-by-howard-green/

The closer we get to Jesus’ return, the further away many Christians and churches are drifting from the great commission. One well-known statement epitomizes the apathy prevalent in much of our time’s lukewarm, watered-down Western church. The decades-old popular false notion is that someone can be so heavenly-minded that they’re no earthly good. This is the sentiment of many believers who desire to be liked by the world so much that they become virtually indistinguishable from the world they are trying to reach. They have become so earthly-minded that they are no heavenly good. Let’s look at the stark difference between man-made efforts to get the world to like us versus the power of God to save and transform people (Romans 1:16).

Consider how many new churches have popped up in your area recently. Most of these churches are swanky new buildings with cafes, game rooms, bookstores, and next-step areas meant to attract the local community with amenities for everyone. The new buzzword in ministry circles is relevant, and people have built ministries instructing believers on how to be more relevant as if the gospel isn’t enough. The desire to be liked by the world so desperately has rendered many churches and individuals irrelevant in the world to come.

This isn’t a blanket statement, but the first and oftentimes only thing many Christians in America and the West boast about is how great their church is or what a dynamic speaker the pastor is rather than how awesome Jesus is. People are encouraged to connect, plug in, join something, or serve together. My question is this: What are they serving, joining, and plugging into? I’ve talked to some of these “involved people” and genuinely wanted to know and asked them how they got saved. They seem completely clueless about eternal matters. They would say, “I started going to this church last year,” or “I grew up around the church and wanted to reconnect.” It seems like many people are finding community, not repentance and saving faith in Jesus.

Many preachers and ministries have amassed fans and attendees, not converts and disciples, to become more relevant to the world. Why do we collectively plan so diligently on how many bounce houses, backpacks, and pizzas it will take to draw a crowd? Why do we use religious-sounding platitudes instead of words like repentance, judgment, and wrath? This is done because if we face the facts, the modern watered-down Western church is ashamed of Jesus and His words (Luke 9:26). Ingratiating ourselves to the world and being liked by them has become an idol and obsession to the growing apostate church across America and abroad.

Never do the disciples use gimmicks to attract crowds. They count on the power of the Spirit to see them through. The notion that they should set up a programmed affair and use Jesus as a kind of sponsor never so much as entered their heads. -A.W. Tozer

We are told to be in the world, not of it, but many believers become like the world to gain their approval. This is a cover for weak and worldly peddlers of the gospel. This is what groveling for the world to like and accept us looks like. By practicing cunning tactics, we think we can make what is patently offensive and foolish to the world acceptable to them (2 Corinthians 4:1-2). Many Christian leaders surmise that changing our communities and social experiments is evangelism; here’s what one Bible teacher said on the religious platitude of helping to change the world for Christ:

Many Christians never stop to ask what is really meant by such a phrase but have a vague idea that somehow, through their godly influence, Christians will make the world a better place in which to live. Such a goal, in fact, is often presented as though it were part of the Great Commission that tells us to preach the gospel and make disciples. -Dave Hunt, Whatever Happened to Heaven?

Numerous Christian magazines, podcasts, and conferences are focused on ways to be relevant, liked, and irresistible to the world. Some ministries charge nearly ten thousand dollars to instruct churches on attracting and engaging people. I attended a recent Christmas Eve service where large banners proclaimed you were made for more, and the pastor told the audience that God was pleased with them. It seems like our collective efforts to win the world boil down to making people feel better about themselves and improving public perception of Christians. Jesus said that the world would hate us, but to many would-be disciples, the temporary satisfaction of being liked is more important than hearing well done, good and faithful servant.

There’s a lot of talk about doing life together, coming alongside people, and building community in churches today (1 Corinthians 4:20). Any realistic assessment of a large swath of American churches will show they are mega country clubs full of self-congratulation, but sorely lacking in authentic love for fellow believers and lost souls. Carefully crafted mission statements, core values, and clever branding will never be a substitute for Holy Spirit-wrought conviction, repentance, and boldness (Zechariah 4:6 and John 15:5).

Can you imagine what would happen if the collective apathy and groveling for the world to like us was replaced with preaching the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit? Do you ever wonder what would happen if we replaced endless programs and activities with zealous evangelism empowered by the Lord and His love for lost souls? The result wouldn’t be the end game of “bodies in seats,” as is the goal of the church growth gurus, but would be measured by new sons and daughters in eternity for God’s glory. When we come to the place where self-promotion and agenda ends and God’s glory becomes our priority, we will witness His transforming power to save people and make them new (1 Corinthians 2:1-2).

Let’s collectively stop playing church and be the Church. Let’s strengthen our resolve to become so heavenly-minded in 2025 that our earthly good is measured by souls won, seeds planted, and the glory the Lord receives through our bold, loving witness. Every blessing in Jesus as you make much of Him in the new year.

Daily Jot: Stupidocrisy: Allstate CEO post-terror lecture

Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com

The Sugar Bowl game between Notre Dame and Georgia was postponed a day because of the Islamic terror attack on New Orleans. Before the game began, Allstate CEO Tom Wilson (no known relation to me) addressed viewers with one of the most insulting and stupid monologues ever presented in the wake of such a horrible event. Wilson said that Americans were addicted to divisiveness and lectured viewers on the need to accept people’s imperfections and differences. In watching this little speech, delivered with alligator-tear sincerity, I had to suspend my disbelief to process the tone-deaf remarks of Mr. Wilson and wonder how a company like Allstate could allow such a mischaracterization of Americans.

Wilson said, “Welcome to the All State Sugar Bowl. Wednesday tragedy struck the New Orleans community. Our prayers are with the victims and their families. We also need to be stronger together by overcoming an addiction to divisiveness and negativity. Join Allstate working in local communities all across America to amplify the positive, increase trust, and accept people's imperfections and differences. Together we win.” My best take on this is that it was hastily put together without examining how the words Wilson used would be received by the American public, who was stunned by yet another bloody attack on innocent civilians by a representative of the “religion of peace.” But it’s difficult to give him the benefit of the doubt when he is lecturing all of us on our addiction to divisiveness and negativity.

Maybe Wilson meant that radical extremist savages imbedded in Islam are the ones addicted to divisiveness and negativity and refuse to trust and accept people’s imperfections and differences. If he did mean that, it sure didn’t come across. It came across as a tone-deaf lecture that Americans, who had just been targeted by a ruthless evil barbarian on behalf of a death cult, should be more accepting of those who wish to destroy America and kill every man, woman and child who disagrees with their medieval nonsense. Maybe we should set up Allstate-sponsored “acceptance” arenas where Islamists are invited to come in and get their aggressions out on unsuspecting people thinking they are attending a mental health fair.

After the uproar, Allstate issued a clarification, saying: "To be clear, Allstate CEO Tom Wilson unequivocally condemns this heinous act of terrorism and violence in all forms. We stand with the families of the victims, their loved ones and the community of New Orleans. The reference to overcoming divisiveness and negativity reflects a broader commitment to fostering trust and positivity in communities across the nation." So I guess he did mean what he originally said. We are all still divisive, negative, and intolerant of people that want to kill us. Proverbs 18:7 says, “A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are the snare of his soul.” Wilson stepped in a deep cesspool with his foolishness. Not even the “good hands people” could pull him out with a “clarification.” Projecting blame on innocents for murderous acts is, say it with me, Stupidocrisy.

Daily Devotion: Five Plus Two Divided by Five Thousand

by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org

Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.

—John 6:11

https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/five-plus-two-divided-by-five-thousand/ - Listen

Crowds followed Jesus wherever He went. People couldn’t get enough of His healing miracles. When He crossed the Sea of Galilee and headed for a remote hillside for some alone time, 5,000 men (along with an untold number of women and children) joined Him. But only one of them packed food for the journey. A young boy carried five barley loaves and two small fish.

The hilly location was miles and miles away from anyplace that sold food. And even if such a place could be found, the disciples couldn’t pick up the tab for a party of five-thousand-plus.

So one of them, Andrew, did the only thing he could think of. He brought the boy with the loaves and fish to Jesus. Notice the first thing Jesus did after He accepted the boy’s food: He gave thanks. No matter how meager the resources might have seemed, they were a gift from God, and He treated them like one.

Then He broke off piece after piece of the five loaves and two fish and handed them to His disciples to distribute. And He didn’t stop until 5,000 men, along with the women and children, had been fed.

What little the boy had to offer was more than enough to impact thousands of people. Jesus helped His followers see that it’s not how much you have that matters, but rather who’s distributing it. What seems inadequate to us may be just enough to accomplish something incredible.

After witnessing Jesus’ miracle, the crowd got overly excited and tried to make Him their king. They imagined Him using His powers against the Roman Empire. But Jesus had a much greater role to fulfill, so He quietly slipped away into the hills for some much-needed alone time. He had met the people’s needs, but He had no interest in meeting their expectations.

That night, when His disciples couldn’t find Him, they got in their boat and rowed back across the Sea of Galilee without Him. They didn’t get far. The Sea of Galilee was known for its sudden, violent storms. It sits 600 feet below sea level. When the sun sets and the air cools, the wind rushes in from the west and churns the waves. The disciples were headed west, toward Capernaum, so they were heading directly into the storm. After several hours of rowing, they had made it only halfway across.

The physical conditions that held back the disciples had no effect on Jesus. He walked across the water toward His disciples. In the darkness, they couldn’t see that their salvation was coming. They thought the figure approaching them across the water was a ghost, until Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!” (verse 20 NLT).

Jesus’ followers invited Him into their boat—and into their struggles. And they immediately and miraculously arrived at their destination. Jesus’ way may seem scary at times, but when we invite Him into our struggles, He will make sure we get where we need to be.

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"Folks, it's all beginning to unravel. America is in more danger of falling than at any time in its history. But I believe Bible prophecy predicts this very decline. From this point on, we believers have to get serious. We are going to face discouragement, disillusionment and, most certainly, persecution in the time between now and the Rapture. But don't be discouraged or disillusioned. The coming turmoil will provide us unrivaled opportunities to share the good news of the Gospel. So be ready to share your faith and your hope with those who need Christ. We still have time to reap a great harvest of souls for God's kingdom!" - Hal Lindsey

1) We need your prayers!- We proclaim the Truth of the Word of God and we are under constant spiritual and sometimes even physical attack.

2) We need your encouragement!- We need to hear from you, let us know how the Lord is blessing you through this ministry so that we can share it with others.

3) We need your input! - If you have a prophetic article or story or if there is a news related item we missed, let us know.

4) We need your financial support!- To put it quite simply, without your support, there would be no Prophecy Update.

I ask that you would prayerfully consider partnering with us to get the Word out and keep the world informed. Remember, your gift, no matter how small, does make a difference! You will be helping to touch lives, around the world, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, thanks to the internet your generosity carries a global impact! - Thanks!

Our Prayer for You- "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else." 2 Corinthians 9:10-13

If you have been blessed by Prophecy Update and would like to help support this ministry financially. You can make a secure donation online by going to:

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Or write us at:

Prophecy Update

P.O. Box 40516

Bakersfield, CA 93384-0516