The Prophecy Update Newsletter - 1/9/25

News & Information for the End Times

Jan 09, 2025

ISRAEL AT WAR!!! Day 461 - 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…

*The Iranian Regime Is Running Headlong into The Judgment of God, And They Will Lose

*12 Things You Should Know About the Apocalyptic “Hurricane of Fire” That Is Rampaging Through Southern California

*Prophecy Update Videos

*Recommended Reading

*Medical Doctor drops truth bomb: Growing ‘pandemic preparedness’ industry ‘like arsonists running the fire department’

*A Man for Such a Time as This, - Part 1 of 2

*Daily Jot: OBidenista’s sum of the parts

*Daily Devotion: The Bread of Life

*Prophecy Update News Headlines

(Scroll Down to Read)

The Iranian Regime Is Running Headlong into The Judgment of God, And They Will Lose

By Robert Gottselig - https://harbingersdaily.com/the-iranian-regime-is-on-a-collision-course-with-god-and-they-will-lose/

Iran, in the midst of a new year, continues to threaten Israel with a retaliatory strike, possibly ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20th.

World Israel News (WIN) reported that the “Israeli military has been placed on high alert and is preparing to respond to possible ‘extreme’ steps by Iran against the Jewish state in the immediate future.”

“The IDF is reportedly concerned that given Iran’s increasingly tenuous position—including a major economic downturn, energy shortages, popular dissent, and the prospect of a fresh wave of sanctions from the incoming Trump administration—Tehran may act out of desperation to shore up the positions of its proxies across the Middle East,” WIN continued. “Iran and its allies suffered devastating losses across the region during 2024, including not only the decimation of Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip, but also the destruction of much of Hezbollah’s leadership and the dismantling of the organization’s infrastructure in southern Lebanon, severe damage to Iran’s air defense network, and the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad.”

The Tehran Times on December 18th emphasized the ongoing threats against Israel emerging from the IRGC:

Speaking at a Wednesday ceremony in Tehran, the IRGC’s Deputy Commander Brigadier General Ali Fadavi said people have been questioning military officials about whether Operation True Promise III will be carried out. “People must take into account that since its establishment, the IRGC has fulfilled all its promises. Operation True Promise III will be carried out at the right time,” he declared.

Of course, “Operation True Promise I” was carried out by Iran last April when they launched some 300 ballistic missiles and drones into Israel. “Operation True Promise II” took place in October when Iran launched another 200 ballistic missiles into Israel. Although both were entirely unsuccessful in their goals, the scope of the attacks was unlike anything the world had ever seen.

Now, Iran threatens Israel once again with an even more extreme response. Amir Tsarfati, on his informative telegram Channel, posted a video of IRGC spokesman Ali Mohammad Naeini in which he says:

Previous attacks on Israel were only a small part of our capabilities. The Zionist enemy knows that its skies are open and defenseless against us. We have never stopped missile production, the production rate is increasing every day. We will soon unveil new and advanced missiles and drones, and we will also unveil “missile cities” across Iran.

What do we make out of all this?

Students of God’s Word know that Iran will continue in its demonic plans to attack Israel until the God of Israel brings it to a decisive end, as we read in Ezekiel 38-39. The truth is that the Iranian regime’s days are numbered, and they ought to tremble before the God of Israel—who neither slumbers nor sleeps.

God is indeed taking note, and judgment will come one day soon. Until then, we will continue to grapple with Iran’s schemes against the Jewish State. Will Iran strike Israel before Trump is inaugurated on January 20th? Iran knows that once Trump is in the Oval Office, he will rule with an iron fist, providing Israel with the full backing of the US. Iran is desperate. Will that translate into an attack on Israel in the coming days? Only God knows.

We should be praying for the Peace of Jerusalem—that’s a command, not an option (Psalm 122:6). We should be praying for Israel’s leaders to be wise to the schemes of those who wish them dead, praying for a return of the hostages in Gaza, and praying for peace to return to the region. Israel has been fighting for its very life, and that fight has only grown more tumultuous since October 7th. We should be—at the very least— interceding for them in prayer to the God of this universe, the only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

As Christians, our support for Israel and the Jewish people should be unwavering. We owe the Jewish people a debt of gratitude because it is through them that we have our Bible, and it is through them that we have our Messiah, Jesus. Jesus was Jewish, and because of Him, we have been grafted into Israel’s spiritual blessings of the New Covenant that we read about in Jeremiah 31. In Romans 15:26-27, Paul states, “For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things.”

We need to stand with Israel. We need to support them. We need to love them. The things that have happened in the Middle East have carried on into our borders here in the Western world. Demonstrations have demonized Israel, and anti-Semitism has spiked around the world.

Israel has been fighting on eight fronts for their survival. Let’s let them know that they are not alone in this battle.

The Iranian regime is on a collision course with God, and they will lose—not only them but all those who come against God’s chosen people. That has been the case in the past, and it will be true in the future. Why? Because God has made promises to Israel that will be fulfilled with 100% accuracy.

One day, when the Messiah returns, the preeminence will shift from the Gentiles to the Jewish people, and no longer will the Jewish people be a doormat for the Gentiles to walk all over. I’m looking forward to that day. I hope you are, too.

Tough times are ahead for Israel, but God is still on the throne. Nothing happens without His knowledge. He will look after His chosen people—our job is to pray for, love, and support them.

12 Things You Should Know About the Apocalyptic “Hurricane of Fire” That Is Rampaging Through Southern California

by Michael Snyder - https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/10-things-you-should-know-about-the-apocalyptic-hurricane-of-fire-that-is-rampaging-through-southern-california/

The “hurricane of fire” that is ripping across Los Angeles County is already being called one of the worst natural disasters in the entire history of the state of California. There are actually several different fires that have erupted, and extremely high winds are spreading them very rapidly. The Palisades Fire, the Eaton Fire and the Hurst Fire are the three largest, and the destruction that they have already caused is absolutely staggering.

In recent years, large wildfires have become very common in California, but what we are witnessing right now is truly frightening. The following are 12 things you should know about the apocalyptic “hurricane of fire” that is rampaging through southern California…

#1 The Palisades Fire has already destroyed approximately 1,000 structures…

More than a thousand homes, businesses and other buildings have burned and at least two people are dead in wildfires scorching communities across Los Angeles County, making this one of the most destructive firestorms to hit the region in memory.

In Pacific Palisades, the Palisades fire had charred more than 5,000 acres as of Wednesday morning, burning down to Pacific Coast Highway where it engulfed homes along the iconic stretch. About 1,000 structures, including many homes, have been destroyed in the fire, L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during a news conference Wednesday morning.

#2 As I write this article, we are being told that the Palisades Fire, the Eaton Fire and the Hurst Fire are all zero percent contained…

Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency as firefighters struggled to control the fires, all listed as 0% contained. Photos from the scenes showed homes engulfed in flames, and thousands of residences were threatened. Much of Los Angeles was enveloped in smoke.

#3 Wind gusts of up to 80 mph are quickly spreading the fires from one area to another…

“Wind gusts are expected to peak at 50-70 mph across portions of Southern California, with localized gusts of up to 80 mph,” according to Fieweger. This would be the case for communities like Santa Clarita and Riverside. An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 100 mph is most likely in the mountains.

Many hurricane-force wind gusts were recorded as of Wednesday morning. “For example, Hollywood Burbank Airport recorded a peak gust around 9 p.m. PST of 71 mph,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Danielle Ehresman said, “Additionally, gusts approaching 100 mph were recorded above 2,000 feet in the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains Tuesday night.”

#4 Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass cut the city’s fire budget by 17.6 million dollars…

So, how did something like this happen? Well, reports suggest the powers that be refused to fill the reservoirs. And get this—while this is all unfolding, we’re discovering that DEI Mayor Karen Bass made massive budget cuts to the fire department, which is really strange, considering one of California’s most popular seasons is literally called “Fire.”

Karen Bass cut the fire department’s funding by a whopping $17.6 million.

#5 “Mayor Karen” is not even in Los Angeles right now. As her city burns, she is in Ghana…

Furious Los Angeles residents tore into their absent Mayor Karen Bass, who was 7,400 miles away in Arica on a political trip as raging fires turned the City of Angels into an apocalyptic hellscape Tuesday.

“RESIGN! WHY ARE YOU IN GHANA?!,” one person commented on an X post by Bass’ office giving an update on the wildfires.

Bass traveled with three other people to Ghana for the inaguration of President John Dramani Mahama, who was elected last year.

#6 It is being reported that hydrants in the disaster zone are running dry…

Los Angeles fire hydrants are OUT OF WATER because the county REFUSED to refill reservoirs, per Rick Caruso

“You can’t fight a fire without water!”

The Mayor did ZERO prep despite the advanced warning of winds and fire risk.

This is EXACTLY what happened on Maui!

#7 Reporter Matthew Seedorff was actually there when a hydrant on Lachman Lane ran completely dry…

Around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, a hydrant firefighters were using on Lachman Lane ran dry. You can hear what sounds like air pushing out, but no water.

#8 According to Amy Mek, the Santa Ynez and Upper Stone Canyon reservoirs were not supplying adequate water to hydrants…

How is it possible that in fire-prone Los Angeles, hydrants—our first line of defense—are dry when they’re needed most? Homes are being reduced to ash, not because firefighters lack skill or bravery, but because there’s no water to fight the flames.

Questions LADWP Must Answer:

Why are reservoirs like Santa Ynez and Upper Stone Canyon not supplying adequate water to hydrants?

Were maintenance or refill protocols ignored ahead of wildfire season?

What contingency plans were in place for such an emergency?

#9 Rick Caruso is blaming aging infrastructure for the lack of water…

Rick Caruso, billionaire real estate developer and former commissioner of the city’s water board, pointed to the reservoirs linked to the hydrants as the source of the problem. “This is a window into a systemic problem of the city — not only of mismanagement, but our infrastructure is old,” said Caruso, who ran unsuccessfully for Los Angeles mayor in 2022.

Recently, I wrote an entire article about America’s crumbling infrastructure. Today, we are witnessing a perfect example of how the negligence of our politicians can have extremely severe consequences.

#10 Instead of being so focused on DEI, perhaps Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley should have been more focused on actually fighting fires…

Then there’s Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley, whom local ABC7 celebrated as “the first LGBTQ+ person to the lead the department, [and] also the first woman.” Her focus seems to have been less on fighting fires and more on launching the “Los Angeles Fire Department’s first-ever Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Bureau (DEI) focused on ensuring a safe, diverse, and inclusive workplace for all.”

#11 In 2024, large insurance companies such as State Farm and Allstate canceled large numbers of home insurance policies in Los Angeles County…

State Farm and Allstate recently stopped writing new policies in California due to fears they could lose massive amounts of money from natural disasters such as fires.

Newsweek reports, “In April 2024, State Farm—one of the biggest private insurers in the state—announced that it had canceled a total of 72,000 policies in California, 30,000 of which were homes. Many of those affected lived in high-risk, upscale neighborhoods in Los Angeles County, the area now affected by the Palisades fire.”

Actor James Woods lost his home to the Palisades Fire, and he says that insurance companies “canceled all the policies in our neighborhood about four months ago”…

Actually one of the major insurances companies canceled all the policies in our neighborhood about four months ago.

#12 The Palisades Fire has already been designated as “the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history”…

After destroying roughly 1,000 homes and buildings, the Palisades Fire — which has not been contained by the California Fire Department — is now the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history, the Associated Press reported.

The Sayre Fire in November 2008 previously held that record after it destroyed 604 structures in Sylmar, a northern suburb of Los Angeles.

This is truly a historic tragedy.

We should mourn for the lives that have been lost.

And we should also mourn with those that have lost their homes, because a lot of them did not have insurance.

Unfortunately, it is expected that the region will continue to be battered by high winds until Thursday, and so this is a story that is far from over.

PROPHECY UPDATE VIDEOS

Medical Doctor drops truth bomb: Growing ‘pandemic preparedness’ industry ‘like arsonists running the fire department’

Leo Hohmann - https://leohohmann.com/2025/01/06/medical-doctor-drops-truth-bomb-growing-pandemic-preparedness-industry-like-arsonists-running-the-fire-department/

I came across an excellent article today at the Brownstone Institute that I’d like to share. It’s authored by a rare physician with courage to stand up and state the obvious about what’s going on in our country right now. Forced masking, lockdowns, vaccine mandates, social media censorship are all coming back. They’re all on the table as options our overlords claim to have the authority to implement at any time under the guise of protecting us from a pandemic.

Last time it was Covid, a disease pre-engineered in government laboratories. Now it’s the bird flu, a disease that’s been around for as long as there’s been birds.

And why, when we’ve already been through this tragedy and seen through all of the lies, is it coming back around again, like a bad dream that keeps repeating itself?

I’ll tell you why. Because the globalist elites who ran the first psychological operation, many of them tied in with the military and intelligence agencies, know from experience that they can get away with it. We, a once-free people, now allow ourselves to be ruled over like slaves serving their masters, when in fact if we still had a viable republic the government officials would be serving us, not the other way around. They would fear us. We wouldn’t fear them.

At the end of the day, this globalist agenda is a dehumanizing agenda. For slaves to be fully subdued, they must be submissive to their masters, even when the orders given are completely nonsensical and ludicrous. They say it. We do it. No questions asked.

At this point, if they do it again, we don’t even need to ask questions. We simply say no. We will not comply.

Anyone who still can’t see this reality, and refuses to resist, is at this point just as much a part of the problem as the government overlords and their lying media hacks who oppress us. Please read and share the article below by Dr. Clayton Baker.

By Dr. Clayton J. Baker, M.D., at Brownstone Institute

In December 31, 2024, the world received a year-end parting gift from the good folks at NIAID, Anthony Fauci’s old fiefdom at the National Institutes of Health. NIAID – the same unaccountable and secretive agency that Fauci used to fund the gain-of-function research of Ralph Baric at UNC Chapel Hill and the Bat Lady in Wuhan that resulted in Covid – has a new director, one Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo.

Marrazzo and another NIAID colleague, Dr. Michael G. Ison, wrote a year-end editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine that accompanies a research paper on recent H5N1 Bird flu cases in the United States, as well as a case report of a lone case of severe illness associated with Bird flu in British Columbia.

Marrazzo and Ison summarize the findings of the research paper and case report as follows:

Investigators now report in the Journal a series of human cases from the United States and Canada. The former series involves 46 case patients with generally mild, self-limited infection with [Influenza type] A(H5N1): 20 with exposure to poultry, 25 with exposure to dairy cows, and 1 with undefined exposure.…Most case patients presented with conjunctivitis, almost half with fever, and a minority with mild respiratory symptoms, and all recovered. The only hospitalization occurred in the case patient with undefined exposure, although hospitalization was not for respiratory illness.

They elaborate on the single case of serious illness:

In Canada, a 13-year-old girl with mild asthma and obesity presented with conjunctivitis and fever and had progression to respiratory failure…After treatment that included oseltamivir, amantadine, and baloxavir, she recovered.

In other words:

Over an eight-month period, from March to October 2024, 46 cases of human bird flu occurred in the United States, a country of 336 million people.
There were zero deaths.
45 out of 46 infected persons had known exposure to animals.
The majority of the cases consisted of conjunctivitis (commonly known as “pink eye”).
Only one US patient was hospitalized, but this was not due to pneumonia – the principal life-threatening complication of influenza – and the patient recovered.
One severe case was identified in Canada, a country of 40 million people, in an asthmatic, morbidly obese girl. She was treated successfully with respiratory support and existing antiviral medications, and she recovered.

Does this sound to you like a public health emergency worthy of the legacy media’s recent exhumation of discredited Covid-era fear-mongers like Dr. Leana Wen and Dr. Deborah “Scarf Lady” Birx? Does it justify their hair-on-fire pronouncements on cable news shows everywhere, pushing for indiscriminate PCR testing of animals and emergency authorization of more mRNA vaccines for humans?

Does this sound to you like justification to continue to kill and destroy (pro tip: “cull” means kill and destroy) millions upon millions of farm animals, when most animals who contract Bird flu survive, recover, and develop immunity?

Does this sound to you like justification for another Emergency Use Authorization of another mRNA vaccine?

No? Me neither.

But wait, there’s more.

In their editorial, NIAID experts Marrazzo and Ison fail to mention the following:

There have been zero cases of human-to-human transmission of this virus.
The current circulating clade of the virus has been determined by independent researchers to very likely have originated at a US Government gain-of-function laboratory, namely the USDA Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory (SEPRL) in Athens, GA.
Multiple bioweapons laboratories, including the Yoshihiro Kawaoka lab at the University of Wisconsin, and the Ron Fouchier lab in the Netherlands (both of which have been affiliated with NIAID and with work done at SEPRL) have been doing gain-of-function research on Bird flu for many years, including experiments so outrageously dangerous that their work prompted President Obama’s ultimately unsuccessful ban of gain-of-function research in 2014.
In 2019, NIAID reapproved and resumed funding Kawaoka and Fouchier’s dangerous work at increasing human transmissibility of Bird flu – the very same gain-of-function research that had prompted Obama’s ban.
According to its package insert, Audenz, the current Bird flu vaccine, was associated with death in 1 out of every 200 recipients, compared to 1 in 1,000 placebo recipients.
According to openthebooks.com, and as reported in the New York Post, NIH scientists received royalties totaling $325 million from pharmaceutical companies and foreign entities over more than a decade.

So, what are our friends at NIAID’s recommendations?

For one, they stress the “urgent need for vigilant surveillance of emerging mutations and assessment of the threat of human-to-human transmission.”

Are they advocating for the willy-nilly testing of entire livestock herds, as promoted by Birx, which is sure to create a preponderance of false positives?

Are they calling for the continued mass killing and destruction of millions upon millions of farm animals, whenever a fraction of the animals test positive for the virus?

Instead of PCR-swabbing every cow, chicken, and farm worker on Earth, how about we stop creating new mutant variants of H5N1 in the labs, since that’s where the current problem originated? How about we stop funding such utter madness with our tax dollars, funneled through corrupt government agencies like NIAID?

After all, you don’t save Tokyo by creating Godzilla.

But Marrazzo and Ison make no mention of this common-sense, sane approach.

Instead, they also stress the need for more – you guessed it – vaccines. They write:

we must continue to pursue development and testing of medical countermeasures…Studies have shown the safety and immunogenicity of A(H5N1) vaccines…studies are ongoing to develop messenger RNA–based A(H5N1) vaccines and other novel vaccines that can provide protection against a broad range of influenza viruses, including A(H5N1).”

Aside from attesting to the “safety” of a product where 1 in 200 users die, the use of the word “countermeasures” is extremely telling. It is a military term, not a medical one. We have already seen this game played with Covid. The gain-of-function lab research is done to produce a lab-manipulated, weaponized version of a virus, a version that is transmissible among and toxic to humans – in other words, a bioweapon. The vaccine is the countermeasure to the bioweapon. The vaccine is the intellectual property of those who created the bioweapon, and it is worth a fortune once the weapon has been unleashed. It is as simple as that.

“Pandemic preparedness” is a gigantic, deadly protection racket. I have described it in the past as arsonists running the fire department. That is precisely what happened with Covid, and that is what is being attempted with H5N1 Bird flu.

Moving forward to a new administration that has expressed a commitment to rooting out corruption in the pharmaceutical/medical/public health realm, improving the health of citizens, and restoring trustworthiness in medicine, I recommend the following steps to combat the H5N1 Bird flu, and to end the “pandemic preparedness” racket that threatens to hold the world hostage again and again, as it did during Covid.

Immediately end and outlaw all gain-of-function and other bioweapons research in and funded by the United States, and apply all possible diplomatic pressure to eradicate it from the Earth.
Eliminate all special protections from liability for vaccines, including the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act and the PREP Act.
Refocus Infectious Disease research on new therapeutics, rather than power-seeking and profit-driven vaccine development.
Completely reform the National Institutes of Health, and close the incorrigibly corrupt NIAID altogether.

The fear pornographers must be discredited. We must make realistic and sensible decisions about our food supply.

We must learn the lessons of Covid, and live in knowledge rather than in fear.

Read the ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE.

C.J. Baker, M.D. is an internal medicine physician with a quarter century in clinical practice. He has held numerous academic medical appointments, and his work has appeared in many journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine. From 2012 to 2018 he was Clinical Associate Professor of Medical Humanities and Bioethics at the University of Rochester.

A Man for Such a Time as This, - Part 1 of 2

By Randy Nettles - https://www.raptureready.com/2025/01/08/a-man-for-such-a-time-as-this-part-1-of-2-by-randy-nettles/

The kingdom of Judah had both good and bad kings, unlike the kingdom of Israel, which only had evil kings.

Manasseh was Judah’s 13th king (and 14th ruler, as Athaliah was the queen of Judah for six years). Manasseh was the son of King Hezekiah, one of Judah’s greatest and most righteous kings. Manasseh began his 10-year co-reign with his father when he was only twelve. After Hezekiah died, Manasseh became king and ruled Judah for 45 years. Even after witnessing his father do many righteous deeds and obeying the word of the LORD, Manasseh did evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel. Manasseh wasn’t born when his evil grandfather, Ahaz, was king of Judah. However, his evil reign resembled his grandfather’s more than his father’s.

“For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house…

“Moreover, Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 21:3-7, 16).

Manasseh committed more abominations and did more wickedly than the Amorites did before him and made Judah to sin with their idols. The LORD sent prophets to Manasseh, but he ignored their messages. One such message/prophecy is mentioned in 2 Kings 21:

“Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies” (2 Kings 21:12-15).

The LORD told Manasseh that he would do to Judah and Jerusalem what he had done to Israel and Samaria by forsaking them and delivering them into the hands of their enemies. When Manasseh died, his son, Amon, became king of Judah.

“And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them: And he forsook the Lord God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the Lord” (2 Kings 21:20-22).

Amon ruled Judah for only two years before his servants conspired against him and slew the king in his own house. After 47 years of evil leadership under the two evil kings, the Jews had had enough.

Amon’s son, Josiah, became king of Judah after his father’s death. He was only eight years old at the time. “And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left” (2 Kings 22:2).

Josiah was the last righteous king of Judah. When Josiah was 16, he began to seek the God of his ‘father’ (ancestor) David. At 20, he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images. There were many ‘good’ kings of Judah, but only two destroyed the prohibited high places of worship (as commanded in Deuteronomy 12:2-7) in the land. These two kings were Hezekiah and his great-grandson, Josiah.

Josiah righted the wrongs of many kings who went before him (including Solomon).

“And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech. And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathanmelech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire. And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, did the king beat down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.

“And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile. And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men” (2 Kings 23:10-14).

While Josiah was at Bethel (north Israel), he fulfilled an amazing 300-year-old prophecy that was recorded in 1 Kings 13:1-3, where the LORD had sent a prophet to Bethel to give Jeroboam, the first wicked king of the northern kingdom of Israel, a message.

“And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.”

The fulfillment of the prophecy of 1 Kings 13:1-3 by Josiah is found in 2 Kings 23:15-20. “Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove. And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.

“Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel. And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria. And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel. And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men’s bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.”

Josiah fulfilled the 300-year-old prophecy by killing the priests of the high places and digging up the graves of the priests who had performed sacrifices on the altar at Bethel and burning their bones. Jeroboam, who was both a king and a priest (which was prohibited in the law of Moses), was probably one whose bones were burned on the altar at Betel. The bones of the prophet who spoke with Jeroboam three centuries previously were left undisturbed.

Jeremiah became a prophet in the 13th year of King Josiah (Jeremiah 1:2). Five years later (when Josiah was 26), in 622 BC, Josiah ordered the cleansing and repair of the Temple. At this time, the book of the law of Moses (the Torah) was found in the Temple by Hilkiah, the high priest (who was also the father of Jeremiah). The book evidently had been collecting cobwebs for about 47 years during the evil reigns of Manasseh and Amon, Josiah’s grandfather and father.

When the book was read to the king, he took it and read it to the people. He was moved and captivated by the sacred words. You could say it was a Holy Spirit moment. “And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord and to keep His commandments, and His testimonies, and His statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book” (2 Chronicles 34:31).

Josiah sent five men to Huldah, the prophetess, to enquire of the LORD for Josiah and the people concerning the words of the book that was found, “for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us” (2 Kings 22:13).

Huldah told them, “Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.

“But to the king of Judah which sent you to enquire of the Lord, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard; Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again” (2 Kings 22:15-20).

The evil that Huldah referred to were the curses for disobedience against the word and will of the LORD found in Deuteronomy 28:15-68. The ultimate curse is the same one the northern kingdom of Israel experienced.

“The Lord will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods—wood and stone. And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you” (Deuteronomy 28:36-37).

One of the significant things that Josiah did in obedience to God (and His commandments/statutes) was to celebrate the Passover Feast on the 14th of Nisan. “And the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. There had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, with the priests and the Levites all Judah and Israel who were present and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. In the 18th year of the reign of Josiah, this Passover was kept” (2 Chronicles 35:17-19).

Josiah became king of Judah in 640 BC, so he kept the Passover in the year 622 BC. The date was Nisan 14, AM 3139 on the Jewish calendar and April 3, 622 BC on the proleptic Julian calendar. This was approximately the same Julian date as Christ’s crucifixion, which occurred on Passover day in 33 AD (IMO).

1 Chronicles 35:7 says, “And Josiah gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks: these were of the king’s substance.” That is a total of 33,000 animals that Josiah gave. 33 is the number that represents Christ in the Bible (IMO), as I have written about many times. In Hebrew, the name Josiah (transliteration is Yo’shiyah) means “Yahweh supports” or “Yahweh heals.”

After 31 years as king of Judah, Josiah was killed in battle (in the valley of Megiddo, according to 2 Chronicles 35:22) against the king of Egypt in 609 BC. He was only 39 years old. His death is recorded in 2 Chronicles 35:20-25.

“His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations” (2 Chronicles 35:24-25).

Josiah was a much-beloved king of Judah, and his death grieved the people greatly.

Interestingly, Zechariah prophesies about the second coming of Jesus when the Jews look upon Christ, whom they have pierced, and mourn for him as when Josiah was pierced with an arrow in the valley of Megiddo.

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon” (Zechariah 12:9-11).

“And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him. Notwithstanding the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal. And the Lord said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there” (2 Kings 23:25-27).

Even Josiah’s covenant with the people regarding a return to obeying God’s word could not stop the curses that were to come upon Judah and Jerusalem.

According to Huldah and the prophecy from the Lord, Josiah, because of his righteousness, never saw the evil that would befall the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. “I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place.”

However, it didn’t take long after his death before the curses from the LORD began. Josiah died in the year 609 BC. Josiah’s fourth son, Jehoahaz (also called Shallum), became king of Judah in the same year, and he only reigned for three months when Pharaoh Neco deposed and deported him to Egypt, where he died in captivity.

Jehoiakim (also called Eliakim) was Josiah’s second son, and he replaced Jehoahaz as king of Judah in 609 BC. In 605 BC, Jeremiah prophesied that because of Judah’s sins, God would send Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to destroy Jerusalem and take the Jews captive to Babylon for 70 years. The same year, the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, pillaged Judah, and carried away many of their inhabitants to serve him in Babylon. Daniel and his three friends were among those taken into exile. This was the start of the desolations of Judah.

Jehoiakim’s reign lasted for 11 years. His son (Josiah’s grandson), Jehoiachin (also known as Jeconiah or Coniah), then became king. His evil reign only lasted for three months and 10 days. Jehoiachin’s uncle (Jehoiakim’s brother), Zedekiah (also known as Mattaniah), then became king of Judah. His reign lasted for 11 years. He was the last king of Judah.

There were three assaults on Judah and Jerusalem by the Babylonians (in 605 BC, 597 BC, and 586 BC), which culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem and the burning down of the Jew’s temple in 586 BC. This tragedy occurred within one generation of Josiah’s death, approximately 23 years. Unfortunately, Josiah’s descendants did not inherit his righteous ways, as they served other gods and didn’t obey the word of the LORD. The last vestige of greatness in the form of spiritual revival for Judah died with Josiah.

“Josiah’s impact on the Israelite nation cannot be overstated. During his reign as king, he played a pivotal role in leading the people back to the worship of Yahweh and away from the idolatrous practices that had infiltrated the land. Josiah implemented sweeping religious reforms and made significant efforts to restore the true worship of God. His commitment to purging the nation of its idols and false gods brought about a spiritual revival among the people. The Book of 2 Kings reports that Josiah even went to the extent of destroying all the idols and shrines located throughout the land, affirming his determination to eradicate idolatry from the nation.

Furthermore, Josiah’s impact on the Israelite nation extended beyond matters of faith. He was known for his justice and fairness in ruling, ensuring that the rights of the citizens were protected. Josiah enacted numerous social reforms aimed at improving the lives of the people. He promoted righteousness, compassion, and the rule of law, establishing a society where injustice was not tolerated. Under his leadership, the Israelite nation experienced a period of stability and prosperity, as Josiah’s commitment to good governance and moral uprightness created an environment conducive to societal flourishing.” {1}

This ends part 1 and Josiah’s impact on the Israelite nation. Part 2 will concern U.S. President Trump and Modern-Day Israel.

Endnotes:

{1} Names and Their Meanings: The Importance of Josiah in the Bible

Daily Jot: OBidenista’s sum of the parts

Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com

There is a saying that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. This may describe the recent actions in the waning hours of the Biden Administration. It is undeniable that this Administration is set on a path of undermining America. From presidential pardons to presidential awards to last minute policy decisions to symbolic signals, the Biden “presidency” is sending the message that Democratic Party “democracy” is the ongoing revolution of Barack Obama’s remaking of America into a statist regime. After eight years of lawfare against the “revolution’s” chief rival, Donald Trump, the forces at hand are showing there is no end to the brazen attempt to turn America away from its founding principles.

Let’s start with pardons. Biden pardoned his crime family son Hunter after repeatedly saying that he wouldn’t. Then he went on to a record number of pardons and commuting sentences—mostly of drug dealers and death row murderers. Then there are the awards. Hillary Clinton and George Soros getting awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Clinton is no doubt the poster child for government corruption—remember the Russian influence hoax and her pay to play scheme with world leaders when she was Secretary of State. Soros is a staunch socialist who has used his billions to undermine American ideals and support Marxist politicians and judges. What kind of message does this send to Americans?

Biden will award the Presidential Citizens Medal to former Representative Lis Cheney (R-WY), who was the Republican lap dog of the Democratic Party’s Marxist show trial against Trump for insurrection, among other things. Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS) will join Cheney as he was the chairman of the Jan 6 Committee that gaslighted Americans that Jan 6 protesters were trying to overthrow the US government. This led to the impeachment of Trump. Then there is the admission by Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Biden’s pressure on Israel aided Hamas in refusing to give up Israeli hostages. Biden and Obama both supported known terrorist groups and sponsors with billions in US tax dollars. These people not only want genocide of Jews, but also to topple America and kill us all.

Of course, no good Marxist revolution would be complete without continued economic disruption on its target. Biden plans to use an obscure provision of a 1953 law called the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to permanently ban offshore oil and gas drilling. Using obscure laws for unintended purposes is the hallmark of Marxism. Now many people may not understand the collective significance of all these developments. Christ said of false prophets in Matthew 7:16, “You will know them by their fruits.” Same is true for Marxists. These are just the high points of all the recent Marxist acts by Biden and his minions. Oh, and one more thing—Biden has ordered that the American flag will fly at half-mast on Trump’s inauguration day.

Daily Devotion: The Bread of Life

by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org

But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval. —John 6:27

https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-bread-of-life/ - Listen

The people who followed Jesus across the Sea of Galilee woke up the next morning to find that He and His disciples were gone. So they rowed back across the water to Capernaum, hoping to see more miracles. They wanted Jesus to keep feeding them miraculous food. They wanted Him to be their miracle-working, Roman Empire-fighting king. They wanted Him to fulfill their expectations.

They found Him in the synagogue. Religious leaders from Jerusalem were also there to interview Him. Jesus took the opportunity to set them all straight. He made them see that they were seeking temporary fixes, miracles that momentarily satisfied their hunger and stirred their imagination. They were focused on the small picture of the miracles themselves. They missed the big picture of what the miracle worker could do for them eternally.

The physical food Jesus gave them lasted a few hours. The spiritual food He offered would last a lifetime—and then forever. He said, “God the Father has given me the seal of his approval” (verse 27 NLT). They could have confidence in Jesus because God Himself guaranteed the truth of His words.

The people realized that Jesus wasn’t going to bend to their wishes. So they tried a different approach. “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” they asked in verse 28. Their goal was still the same: to get Jesus to be who they wanted Him to be. What they wanted to know is how they could please God with their works to make that happen.

“Jesus told them, ‘This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent’” (verse 29 NLT). Some translations use the word trust instead of believe. Trusting may seem easier than performing works, but it’s not. Trusting in Jesus means giving up our own agenda and embracing God’s plan. It means letting go of what we want and sincerely asking for what God wants.

The religious leaders from Jerusalem, who had heard about the miraculous feeding of more than 5,000 people, wanted to see Jesus’ power for themselves. And the people who had eaten the loaves and fish wanted to eat again. So they tried to manipulate Jesus using the Old Testament story of God providing manna for the Israelites in the wilderness. They wanted Jesus to provide them daily bread to eat.

In verse 35, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life,” (NLT) the One who had come down from Heaven to give spiritual nourishment—the Word of God and eternal life, things that were much more important than food.

And that’s when the crowd started to murmur. Come down from Heaven? He was the son of Joseph and Mary, local people! The idea of a miracle-working king appealed to them. The idea of trusting in someone for eternal life didn’t. So many followers deserted Jesus.

When Jesus asked His 12 disciples if they wanted to desert too, Peter answered for the group. “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God” (verses 68–69 NLT).

Wise people don’t try to alter the truth to fit their thinking; they alter their thinking to fit the truth.

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