The Master Plan for Rapture Ready The blueprint

By Todd Strandberg

The master of all master plans is the need for every person in this world to find salvation in Jesus Christ. In Romans 6:23, this is written: "for the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord" (NKJV).

Unless our goals in life tie into the Kingdom of God, we’re not being productive with our time. Christian ministries seem to be doing everything today but saving souls. They tell people to how to live happy and fulfilled lives, but do little to prepare them for eternity.

Until someone comes to faith in Christ, he or she really doesn’t have a working plan. People may be pursuing a goal that temporarily allows them to have the world by the tail, but at the end of their lives, all their accomplishments will come to nothing.

At Rapture Ready, everything we do relates to the plan of salvation. Some of our articles may feature seemingly unrelated topics, but they all work together to lead people to Christ.

Rapture Ready Master Plan

Within the framework of the ultimate master plan, we have been working on an objective for the master plan for Rapture Ready. It involves a realization of what will happen as a result of the rapture. When the Lord Jesus comes to earth to remove the Church, I strongly believe the rapture will generate the greatest panic in human history.

Unlike other events in the past, the world will instantly realize the danger it is in. When the Great Flood occurred, most people just thought it was an unusual rain event. They didn’t realize their predicament until their lives were in peril. The supernatural nature of the rapture will present a crystal clear message.

The intense need for information will cause millions of people to turn to the internet for answers. Because Rapture Ready is so closely related to the subject, a huge number of people will find their way to this domain. Currently, only about 0.00115% of global internet users visit our site. I would not be surprised if 20 percent of the post-rapture population eventually reads an article from RR. The only limitation will be the ability of servers hosting RR to distribute data to the eager public.

You folks who happen to read this page ahead of the blessed hope are part of a very unique group of people. The vast majority of site’s visitors will come in the post-rapture world. This is why we have made it our master plan to address the needs of those left behind.

Future Focus

When Rapture Ready started out in 1987, it had a capacity of 500,000 bytes of information for a whole month. Today, we often send out 5 billion bytes of data in a single day. Our total monthly capacity is now over 4 trillion bytes of data.

Another big change has been the number of people who can access the site. In the 1980s, only a handful of people were connected to the internet. Today, web access has gone from being a novelty to a common necessity equal to phones and TV. The web has reached some of the poorest nations on earth. Someone living in India can go to a cyber club and use a computer to view our site.

My first modem could download data at a rate of 1200 baud. A consortium has just finished a network that can transmit data at 100 million bytes per second. The rate of progress mankind has made in the past 20 years likely will continue for many years. With there being no limitation on how fast computers can become, any connectivity goal will eventually be reached.

We at Rapture Ready have been relying heavily on the growth of net capacity. Our hope is that someday the web will become so powerful that a single server could instantly transmit data to the total global population. The search company Google has made it possible for vast numbers of people who understand its cache feature to access the content on RR. Google has vast data centers around the world that store a record of all websites. A person could just click on the “cached” link in search result for “Rapture Ready” and find a stored version of the site.

We’re still looking forward to the advance that will come in the future. We are satisfied that if the rapture were to happen now, tens of millions of people would be able to draw upon RR as a resource of biblical knowledge.

Flying Under the Radar

The time we have here on earth is very brief. Nothing here should be considered more important than goals related to eternity. Unfortunately, the Church has a chronic problem with its priorities. The carnal concerns of this world have crowded out the necessities that pertain to the age to come.

Christian organizations take in hundreds of millions of dollars each year, and yet they have almost zero impact on the world. Some ministries tell people the Lord Jesus is coming soon, and then make financial plans as if God’s return is for some other generation. Rapture Ready is solidly based on the idea that the tribulation hour is near.

The fact that we have a much larger web footprint than several well-known ministries put together is proof that our commitment is not just in words. We have been so active in producing content for the public that we have become one of the internet's best-kept secrets. I’m sure Satan is aware of our endless productivity. If you do a search for an article that attacks his kingdom, you will find many are hosted on this site.

For right now, Rapture Ready is flying under the radar of public attention. When the rapture occurs, millions of people will realize they’ve made a terrible mistake and will wish they had discovered this domain many years beforehand.

Now That We Have Your Full Attention

Rapture Ready ranks as the most popular prophetic site, but I have no delusions about how shallow the level of interest can be for most visitors. Over the years, I have noticed that our traffic tends to rise and fall based on world events. If something of prophetic nature happens in the Middle East, people will flock to RR. The lack of activity causes their interest to wane.

On an average day, 67 percent of the people who visit RR spend less than 30 seconds on the site. The folks who spend more than an hour on RR only amount to 2.5 percent. After the rapture transpires, I have no doubt that our visitor duration rate will dramatically improve. Many people will download whole sections of the site to study in great detail. I can only speculate how wide a reach the site will have in the aftermath of the rapture. What will add to the site’s usefulness as a witnessing tool is the undivided attention it will have from terror-struck people.

The tribulation will be a time when people will be forced to make urgent decisions about their eternal destiny. You will either choose Satan or God. Because it will also be a life and death decision for most individuals, RR will be a vital instrument in helping untold numbers of people make the right choice.

Your Role in the Master Plan

In the days that follow the rapture, end-time knowledge will instantly become a very important commodity. There will be no experienced ministers sharing the truth. Everyone will be lost or in desperate need of the truth. Finding good resource material will be no small task. At any given moment, only a few thousand copies of any book, video, or tape is available for sale to the public. It would take years to print millions of copies of a book. I seriously doubt that authorities will stand by and allow the mass printing of prophecy books to take place.

The internet is the only logical way of disseminating large amounts of information to millions of people in a short period of time. Someone could bundle up the whole RR site into a zip file and within minutes send it to friends all over the country.

I fully realize that many people who read this article will be on the wrong side of the rapture. This is where you have the opportunity to fit into the Master Plan. In fact, you can consider yourself deputized as ambassadors for Christ. Terry and I will be gone in the rapture, so there will be nothing more we can do to promote the end-time message. You don’t need to pick up where we left off by adding new content to the site. There should be enough material on the site to lead people to the truth. Your mission will be to share these articles with as many people as possible. You can do so by creating mirror websites of RR. You can also save the site onto CDs, DVDs or thumbdrives. Or, you can send people the content via email attachments.

The most import thing is to keep the Good News flowing. The Bible says the last days will be a period when it will be very difficult to hear the Word of God: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD” (Amos 8:1).

Nearing Midnight In depth weekly commentary (Apr 6)

Apr 6

Violent Crime Joins the "Here We Go Again" Club

Three weeks ago, my partner Terry wrote the article, "Violence Trumpets Christ’s Return." He focused on two key events: the teenage gunman who killed 15 people in Germany and the murder of Rev. Fred Winters during a church service. These were unusual events, and it was noteworthy that they occurred within days of each other.

Recent events have compelled me to address this issue again. In the past few days, there has been an explosion of violence across the land. I've never seen so many horrendous crime stories within such a short period of time.

March 21 - Four Oakland, CA, police officers and one suspect were shot and killed in two shooting incidents near a police substation. It was the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since September 11, 2001.

March 28 - Kirby Revelus, 23, stabbed his 17-year-old sister to death with a kitchen knife, and he also attacked his 9-year-old sister (she was taken to the hospital and survived). He finally decapitated their 5-year-old sister in front of a police officer when he broke down the door to their Milton, MA home.

March 29 - A gunman opened fire inside a nursing home in a small North Carolina town, killing eight people, including elderly patients in wheelchairs. A 45-year-old local man was arrested and faced eight counts of first-degree murder after the shooting at the retirement care home in Carthage, about 60 miles southwest of Raleigh.

March 29 - An engineer at Yahoo gunned down his family in an apparent murder-suicide that left six people dead. Devan Kalathat killed his two children and three other relatives at a family housewarming party Sunday before shooting himself.

April 1 - A Massachusetts woman who believes she was being stalked by a cult has been charged with using a pair of scissors to inflict 100 wounds on her 2-year-old daughter. Susan Johnson can be heard saying "Die! Die!" on a 911 call made by a security guard who helped to subdue the woman in a laundry room at a Gardner apartment building Wednesday night.

April 3 - Vietnamese immigrant Jiverly Wong barricaded the back door of an immigration services center in New York State with a car and burst through the front door on a shooting rampage, killing 13 people and then himself.

April 4 - Three Pittsburgh officers, were shot and killed after a man pulled over for a routine traffic stop opened fire and then battled SWAT officers at a nearby building, police said.

April 4 - Five children were found dead inside their Washington state home Saturday afternoon. The children, who range in age from 6-17, were apparently killed by their father in a murder-suicide, according to police.

In Matthew 24:8, we are told that the tribulation hour will be preceded by an exponential surge of activity. Jesus mentioned a great variety of signs — spiritual, natural, societal, and world political —then said these warning signs will be like "birth pangs."

Several times in the past few years, I've compiled lists of birth pangs to show how they are increasing in frequency. When I was writing in the ‘80s and ‘90s, the spacing for major birth pangs could be several years a part. Now, the contractions are weeks and even days apart. Go to our “Timeline” page on mass murder to see how this type of violence is increasing. Most years only have one or two events listed.

The birth pangs have become so active, they are starting to overlap. Here I am writing about violent crime, and at the same time, global leaders are in Europe working on the global financial crisis. North Korea’s launch of a long-range missile is another birth pang simmering on the back burner.

The danger of having to say “Here we go again” is the onset of apathy. Even the most shocking news story can only hold people’s attention for so long. One good example is homicide bombers. When they first started in Israel in the early part of this decade, these attacks would cause news organization to go into “breaking news” mode. Today, they occur all over the Middle East and are reported as if they were as commonplace as a weather report.

I think the disparity between the frequency of birth pangs and the general sense of apathy is the granddaddy of end-time indicators. Jesus gave us a long list of signs of His return, but warned us that the lack of awareness would be the cherry on top. Because they are both at levels never before seen in modern times, I can only conclude that we are near the tail end of the Church Age.

"Just so, when you see the events I've described beginning to happen, you can know his return is very near, right at the door" (NLT Mat. 24:33).

-- Todd

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Where is Antichrist? Part II

The question “Where is Antichrist?” is appropriate for this “time of the signs,” as my friend Chuck Missler has phrased his description of these strange days. There are so many signals on today’s prophetic horizon that one must ask, if he or she knows much about Bible prophecy, “Is Antichrist alive today?” Those who have looked at the world’s issues and events through the prism of God’s prophetic Word throughout preceding decades of America’s history have heard questions about the leaders of the times. Are presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, or non-presidents like Henry Kissinger and others, the Antichrist? Now the question is pointed at President Barak Obama: “Is he the Antichrist?”

This hour is more prolific with end-times signs than any in history. Obama’s watch as president marks one particular characteristic that adds, peripherally, to the more substantial signals pervading the news at present–I refer to conditions like Israel’s being back in its land and the center of world attention, the Roman Empire seeming to revive in the form of the European Union (EU), and the Gog-Magog coalition of Ezekiel 38-39 forming right before our eyes.

The peripheral matter of concern in this case is the deceit with which this administration is trying to steer the American ship of state. Mr. Obama’s campaign claim was that he would have “transparency” in all of his dealing with the business of the American people. Yet his administration, with the continuing ramrod tactics of his political party, has gone against the will of the American public and is in the process of running up trillions of dollars in debt, an action that even the most “progressive” economists have declared to be beyond any semblance of fiscal sanity.

One such expert comes across as almost fearful of Obama’s plan as put forward by his controversial secretary of treasury, Timothy Geithner. “HONG KONG (Reuters) - The U.S. government plan to rid banks of toxic assets will rob American taxpayers by exposing them to too much risk and is unlikely to work as long as the economy remains weak, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said on Tuesday… U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's plan to wipe up to US $1 trillion in bad debt off banks' balance sheets, unveiled on Monday, offered ‘perverse incentives,’ Stiglitz said.

The U.S. government is basically using the taxpayer to guarantee against downside risk on the value of these assets, while giving the upside, or potential profits, to private investors, he said…” (“Geithner plan will rob American taxpayers,” Susan Fenton and Deborah Kan, Reuters, 3/24/09).

The economic expert expressed his concern.

"Quite frankly, this amounts to robbery of the American people. I don't think it's going to work because I think there'll be a lot of anger about putting the losses so much on the shoulder of the American taxpayer" (ibid.).

Time and time again in this fledgling administration, Obama’s regime demonstrates a level of non-transparency that borders on treachery, in my view. To strap an entire nation’s citizenry with debt they don’t want, going against their will, expressed through legitimate polling methods, is beyond taxation without representation. This administration is taking liberty from Americans in a way that does so by deception and force by fiat, not constitutional vote. Such tyranny will enslave citizens and their offspring for generations–possibly into perpetuity—and is among the most despicable forms of deception and deceit.

Does all of this criticism mean I view President Obama as a prime candidate for the one who will be antichrist? No. In no way do I mean to express that Mr. Obama is the biblically prophesied man of sin. However, the way things are being done in Washington D.C. during these strange times should make the observer of issues and events from a biblically prophetic perspective sit up and take notice. They should know from their observations that this generation is seeing governmental razzle-dazzle not unlike the machinations that will mark the ultimate deceiver’s regime. Antichrist’s most tyrannical dictatorship will be one of ultimate enslavement to the 666 marks and numbers system of Revelation 13:16-18.

There is a peaceful revolution going on, about which most of us have at least heard–the neo-Tea Party to protest the forcing of trillions of dollars of debt on American taxpayers, their offspring, and their progeny yet unborn. People are putting tea bags in envelopes and mailing them to the appropriate address in Washington, D.C. At least, the White House kitchen help should, through all of the submitted tea bags, be able to save the taxpayers a few of the dollars that are coming off the presses like toilet paper off the roll. (Be aware, you Tea Partiers, however. Word is that the envelopes containing the bags--a powdery substance--are being summarily disposed of because of possible harmful substances they might contained. Best, I’m told, just to send the tags with the attached strings.) SH Something Rotten in Denmark–And Everywhere Else

The smell permeates almost every corner of America and the world. It is an odor of things to come.

Beyond the political exigencies of this troubling hour is the spiritual atmosphere that has the stench of Antichrist and his father, the devil. The scent was prevalent 2,000 years ago, and the Bible prophet John forewarned about its cankering, corrosive qualities, as well as defined it:

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time… Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” (1 John 1:18, 4:1-3).

Denial of Jesus Christ and God’s prescription for living godly lives on Planet Earth saturate this generation. The antithesis of Christ’s words is not only carried out in the sinful lives of earth-dwellers; the opposition to the Lord is set in the hardened rebellion of manmade law.

The denial that Christ came to teach God’s standards for living on the planet He created is almost imperceptible. Most–even leaders of every conceivable religious sort--often agree that Jesus was a great teacher of good. But when Jesus is held up as the only Way to God the Father (John 14:6), the shrieks emanating from the spirit of Antichrist come from every dark direction of this fallen sphere.

During the present hour, there are even claims that Jesus taught that it is the mother’s right to choose whether her baby lives or dies. It is held among a growing number of clergy that Jesus himself gave blessing to those who chose homosexuality over heterosexuality. Most worrisome of all, the world is more and more embracing the lie that Jesus only represented the Christ spirit during His time on earth. He didn’t die for the sin of man. He didn’t resurrect from the dead because He didn’t really die at the crucifixion, but feigned death on the cross. He didn’t ascend to on high to sit at the right hand of God. He is, therefore, not coming back to rule and reign.

Jesus, the majority of the world–including many in our government as it is presently constituted, deny that Jesus is God–the second Person of the Godhead, the Trinity.

Just a cursory examination of the earliest phase of the new presidential administration tells the story of this time of the growing Antichrist spirit. The first months following the inauguration have brought changes by presidential edict that are diametrically opposite God’s will as given in His Word, the Bible. For example, the president ordered that money of the American taxpayers now be used to help with abortion practices in foreign nations, reversing former President George W. Bush’s presidential order that no such use of taxpayer money be made. This Obama did, despite the protestation of more than half of the American public.

The United States is being channeled and forced into a mold that looks like the biblically foretold one world order that will be ruled with a deadly iron fist by the one who is called “the beast.” With the stage of history’s last act set, for all practical purposes, it is perhaps not far-fetched that Antichrist is among us even now. He is here in spirit, for sure.

--Terry

Nearing Midnight In depth weekly commentary (Mar 30)

March 30 What Should We Be Doing? From the very beginning of the site, I determined that one of my main duties would be to motivate fellow Christians to be productive in their faith. Far too many prophecy sites have an exclusive fixation on dire news. I think it is foolhardy for people to be watching the end-time signs unfold, while at the same time divorcing themselves from any responsibility that comes with being a believer. We are seeing spectacular signs of how close we are to the tribulation hour. Bible prophecy is advancing on all fronts. I’m particularly amazed at how the world is casually talking about creating a new global currency. I have noticed many long-time prophecy commentators have been writing, “I’ve never seen anything like this before” type articles. The interest in prophecy is showing up in our traffic. March will easily be Rapture Ready’s busiest month ever for bandwidth traffic. Yes, all this end-time news is amazing, but what are doing about it? We’ve all seen the headlines concerning the shaky state of the financial system. It makes me wonder where Christians have their priorities when they continue to put their faith in a system that is based on a mountain of IOUs . If believers could see the ultimate fate of their earthly treasures, they would probably be more inclined to invest in their heavenly accounts. I get a lot of emails from Christians who express their frustration at having to watch the world slowly fall into the enemy’s hands. They want to go home and leave this wicked world. I think the best cure for the rapture blues is the realization that we are accountable for every second we spend here on earth. Someday, we will stand before the Lord and tell Him what we’ve done in His name. After the rapture, it’s show and tell: “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” (2 Cor. 5:10). I don’t understand how Christians can believe so strongly in Bible prophecy, and yet have such a cloudy grasp of their role in the kingdom of God. I recently came across a website that lectures visitors about the importance of being busy about the Lord’s work. The site’s owner needs to take his or her own advice. The main page has a daily news log that has not been updated for two years. I’ve seen enough of these abandoned prophecy sites to know that laziness or boredom are the prime reasons a web venture becomes defunct. What has kept me motivated to maintain this site for 22 year is the understanding that the only things that have lasting value are what I do in Jesus’ name. A couple of years ago, I retired from the Air Force after two decades of service. Even though I enjoyed serving my country, very little of my work in the military will translate to the life to come. It is very important to regularly ask ourselves how dedicated we are to the cause of Christ. We can often tell when the rest of the Church is losing its focus, while at the same time, we overlook our own slothfulness. Here are few questions to test your motivation level: How active is your prayer life? Do you regularly study God’s Word? Do you live a life of spiritual integrity? When is the last time you shared your faith with someone else? Do you support Christian causes? One of the key things missing from the Church today is a sense of duty. The first century Christians weren’t willing to die for their faith simply because they joined a club. They were willing to suffer martyrdom because they had a hope that went beyond the cares of this world. Our actions are what really define us as believers. The desire to spread the gospel message is something that should be on the hearts of all Christians. Charles Spurgeon once put it very bluntly, “Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that." Opportunity abounds here at Rapture Ready. We are probably the only major prophecy site that welcomes input from the public. Most prophetic websites are run by people who have a bias for featuring their own content. We’re so open to receiving anything that promotes the gospel message, we’ve even gone as far as editing some articles submitted by people with good ideas but a shortage of good grammar skills. Once we cleaned up and post their articles, they become productive witnessing tools to thousands of people each month. The hardest part about doing something for the kingdom of God is getting started. If you decided to write a personal testimony and you only write two words a day, what does it matter if it takes you two years to complete the task? Once it’s finished, you will have accomplished something that 99.9 percent of your fellow believers will never do. Another factor that keeps my nose to the grindstone is the realization that the opportunity to be productive in the Lord’s work is only for a limited time and will never be repeated. Once the rapture takes place, intercessory prayer, the sharing of our faith, and the ability to financially support godly causes will abruptly end. “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Rev 22:12). -- Todd Where is Antichrist? Part I The most frequently asked question at prophecy conferences and in Bible prophecy classes–at least in my experience—is: “Is America in Bible prophecy?” The second most asked is: “Do you think the Antichrist is alive on earth today?” These questions are for the most part posed by people in the audiences or classes in general. However, more and more frequently I find these questions being asked by journalists, both print and broadcast. It is interesting to me that I rarely hear a skeptical or scoffing tone in the voices of the media representatives who interview me. There seems a sense, even among secular journalists, that perhaps there’s something to this Bible prophecy stuff after all. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not sensing a sudden turning to God, or to His Word. However, there is a halting uncertainty there. Like, “Well, maybe I had better be just a bit more serious about the subject, since there is such angst over these strange economic conditions.” Economic Conditions There is a sense that strange, unexplainable things are happening, and even secular newshounds seem to viscerally understand that Bible prophecy has something to do with the increasingly troubling issues and events of our time. U.S. leaders–I use that term loosely—have seemingly thrown caution to the wind. It’s like, as I heard one Bible prophecy broadcaster say the other day—those who are supposed to be trying to fix the melting financial structure of America have placed the whole shebang on 17 black, and have given the roulette wheel a hope-filled turn. Actually, it is more like they have written trillions in IOUs and put them on 17 black, and have given the wheel a turn. If the little ball ends up on any number other than 17 black, what then? That is the crux of the crucial nature of this insanity surrounding the American economy as the end of the age approaches. Craziness rules--like when the Federal Reserve reached in its right pocket and transferred more than a trillion dollars IOU to its left pocket to keep the American financial system afloat. “Just last Wednesday the Fed said it would flood the teetering financial system with an additional $1.2 trillion. The money will be used, the Fed said, to buy government bonds and mortgage-related securities in hopes of lowering the borrowing costs for home mortgages and other types of loans, thereby stimulating economic activity. In other words, the central bank will print more money to pay for the purchases. What the Fed does not explain publicly is how those kinds of infusions of money out of thin air, with nothing to back it, reduce the purchasing power and assets of all Americans by devaluing the dollar. The $1.2 trillion is in addition to hundreds of billions already added to the system since the beginning of the year and dwarfs even the biggest government bailouts to date…” (“Fed's secrecy policy 3 years old,” WorldNetDaily MoneyNetDaily, March 22, 2009). Keep in mind that Federal Reserve is a non-government agency. Congress designated this monetary governing body to control the nation's money supply. The Fed’s actions directly impact the value of the dollar. This body, manned by the non-elected financial elite, holds sway over every investment held by Americans. Actions like those taken by the Federal Reserve in the case of creating out of nothingness the trillion plus dollars, then putting that massive IOU into the system with a blind faith that that unbacked infusion will beat the odds of failure, will, if nothing else is done, put not only America’s economy, but the economies of the nation-states of the world into the final stages of collapse. The following excerpt tells of just how surreptitious are the actions against the taxpayers and their offspring, who are expected to shoulder the burden of funding the globalist elite’s grandiose plans to build their new world order. “WASHINGTON – As America's economy continues in freefall, tomorrow marks an auspicious three-year anniversary – the day the Federal Reserve announced, with little fanfare, its decision to stop reporting to the public the M3 money supply, the broadest measure of three standards of measurement…Since 2006, Americans have seen their investments plummet in value and witnessed the shrinking buying power of their earnings. Why did the Fed make that decision three years ago? What was its rationale? The justification for the secrecy by the organization that prints money was cost. By not producing those numbers for the public, the Fed would save about $1.5 million annually…” (ibid.). The Craziness Proliferates! It should be astonishing to think that the media, so obsessed with nefarious financial dealings by civilian monetary elite–e.g., the AIG executive bonuses, would let civilians with the power of the Fed go without being punished for perpetrating such surreptitiousness on American taxpayers. There seems to be, however, not the slightest notice. The $1.5 million savings by the Fed in not reporting to the public the M3 money supply amounted to 0.00000699 percent of its annual net income of last year. This savings was highlighted as sufficient reason to keep vital information from the public. Just to point out the deceptive nature of this piddling savings being reported in order to justify keeping taxpayers in the dark, remember that the same media went all out in diverting the publics’ attention from the enormous bailouts by focusing on–by contrast to the prodigious bail-out dollar amount— the infinitesimal bonuses paid to AIG executives. Remember, too, that the bonuses were given to the AIG executives through contractually mandated arrangements. The sleight of hand by the Fed in transferring the massive IOU from one pocket to the other to keep the country’s economic ship afloat was done under the knowing eyes of the Obama Administration and Congress. An uninformed American public was, and is for the most part, kept in ignorance by news media not fully disclosing the scope of the thievery of the economic well-being of this and future generations. What About Antichrist? This essay’s title is “Where Is Antichrist?” So, where, if anywhere in this present hour, is this future evil Bible character in all of the foregoing? Can he be on the scene today? Jesus forewarned that false christs will come on the scene in the latter times. The definition of antichrist is most often given as the one who will present himself in place of (imitate) Jesus Christ, and will at the same time oppose Jesus Christ. The “beast” is prophesied to be the world’s worst tyrant of human history. The prophet Daniel was given the following about this person who is called “son of perdition,” “man of sin,” and many other names. “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand “ (Dan. 8:24-25). We will examine in next week’s Nearing Midnight commentary this man who is of legendary proportions, yet who transcends by far any legend. He is not an imaginary monster such as Dracula in the Stoker novel, or Darth Vader as in Spielberg’s fictional wars among the stars. Antichrist is a real monster, and a most treacherous one, because he will through supernatural deceit appear as a geopolitical and socioeconomic savior of mankind. Be sure, the beast of Revelation 13 is about to step into the spotlight of history’s final act. -- Terry ***PROPHECY CONFERENCE – WAKE UP AMERICA!*** America stands today on the brink of a prophetic leap into the unknown. The nation is not mentioned by name in Bible prophecy, but is she there, by inference, within the pages of history about to be written by God’s own Majestic Hand? Southwest Radio Church, now a 120 station, nation-wide network which has been broadcasting since 1933, with a voice commissioned by god for the end times, will host a series of presentations to address where lies the ultimate destiny/fate of the United states of America. Terry James will be featured speaker, dealing with the most pressing current issues and events of prophetic relevance as presented by his book just released by Harvest House Publishers. “The American Apocalypse: Is the united States in Bible prophecy?” examines the nation’s standing as the most advanced in human history, and at the same time dissects the many-faceted perplexities that threaten its fall. Why is the United States, which has almost single-handedly brought the world to the technological apex of human history, not mentioned in the Bible? Or is it? The American Apocalypse examines how and why America stands as the global pillar to which all nations are tethered through the fantastic electronic and satellite inter-linkages she has been primary in producing. James maintains that key to where this nation Stands, and to her destiny, is America’s supernatural relationship with God’s chosen people, Israel. ALSO: 5 other top prophecy experts will speak on where America and the world stand at present on God’s Prophetic Timeline. Saturday, April 18, 2009 Embassy Suites Hotel 11301 Financial Centre Parkway Little Rock, Arkansas Call 1-800-652-1144, or go to swrc.com for further details. The conference is FREE, and there is no registration required.

Nearing Midnight In depth weekly commentary (Mar 9)

March 16 Sorry Dave, Your Visions Aren’t Needed I have received dozens of emails concerning the prediction made by David Wilkerson, pastor of Times Square Church in New York. Because several news organizations have featured his doomsday warnings, I thought I should comment on them. Here is what Wilkerson posted on his blog: "I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to send out an urgent message to all on our mailing list, and to friends and to bishops we have met all over the world. AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT IS GOING TO BE SO FRIGHTENING, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TREMBLE - EVEN THE GODLIEST AMONG US." After pulling the fire alarm, Dave gives us this dire prediction: "For ten years I have been warning about a thousand fires coming to New York City. It will engulf the whole megaplex, including areas of New Jersey and Connecticut. Major cities all across America will experience riots and blazing fires—such as we saw in Watts, Los Angeles, years ago. There will be riots and fires in cities worldwide. There will be looting—including Times Square, New York City. What we are experiencing now is not a recession, not even a depression. We are under God’s wrath." I have a big problem with David Wilkerson's so-called visions. This is not the first time he has warned of calamity coming to America. He has a rather long track record of making these predictions. I first read of his fetish for prognostication from a book he wrote entitled, The Vision. Published in 1974, it claimed that America was headed for calamitous horrors in the near future. Several times in the book, he said his visions would occur within the next decade. He also linked a number of current events to the end times. Here are some of his failed predictions: Marijuana will be legalized. Nude dancing in church will become popular. We will see “Satan evangelists” witnessing to people. Bands of homosexuals will roam the streets, raping people at will. A new drug will cause teenagers to become more sexually active. Environmentalists will come under heavy criticism. Storms with huge hailstones will kill thousands of people and cause massive damage. The U.S. dollar will collapse. There will be a major famine in America. Wilkerson was wrong because his forecasting was heavily tied to trends of the ‘70s. For example, the drug culture and the sexual revolution were both peaking as he wrote this book. One of his most glaring errors was predicting economic calamity right as the stock market was bottoming out in the ‘73-‘74 recession. For the latter part of the ‘80s, I was on Wilkerson’s newsletter mailing list, and I remember him continuously spouting a stream of doom and gloom predictions. His forecast of immediate pending calamity continued into the ‘90s as well. Here is a quote from a prophecy dated September 7, 1992: "I have had recurring visions of over 1,000 fires burning at one time here in New York City. I am convinced race riots will soon explode! New York City is right now a powder keg-ready to blow!...federal and State Welfare cutbacks will be the spark that ignites the fuse. Next year, New York City could have over 100,000 angry men on the streets, enraged because they have been cut off from benefits....Federal troops will have to move in to restore order. New York City will have tanks running down its avenues....Churches will be closed for a season because it will be too dangerous to travel about. Fires will rage everywhere." I could go on, but my main concern is not the validity of Wilkerson's visions. What troubles me is the harm these personal predictions do to the end-time message. Here is a disturbing remark I found on a secular message board: "A man of god. That's nice. I'm a man of my gods. And I can tell you, my gods have no plans to destroy the United States or the world. I can tell you that my gods assure me Wilkerson's god is just another tribal god and doesn't have the pull Wilkerson attributes to him. So I've given Wilkerson's words due consideration and filed them away appropriately, the same place I'm filing this thread - in a hole in the ground." Even if David were a true prophet of God, I'm not sure his predictions are needed at this point. The prophecies in the Bible have never been wrong, and they provide a clear warning to everyone that the tribulation hour is near. The frequency of the birth pangs is the most unmistakable indication that the return of the Lord Jesus is coming soon. One of these pangs is violence. Jesus prophesied that as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days just before His return. In the days of Noah, “the Earth was filled with violence" (Gen. 6:11). Just this past week, we three major events confirmed the trend toward violence in the last days. On Sunday, an Illinois pastor was murdered while standing in his pulpit; on Tuesday, a man went on a shooting rampage in Alabama that left 10 victims dead; and on that the same day, a teenager killed 15 students at a school in Winnenden, Germany. There is one good thing to take away from Wilkerson's visions. He confirms the validity of Bible prophecy. Despite his best effort to anticipate world events just a few years down the road, he failed miserably. The biblical writers blindly penned their prophecies thousands of years ago, and their work perfectly matches the events of our day. “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28). --Todd Violence Trumpets Christ’s Return The prophet of all prophets, who just happens to be the very Word of God (John 1:1), foretold the human condition at the time of the first phase of His second coming. Jesus said, “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man” (Lk. 17:26). Those are strong words by Jesus, and they open for the student of Bible prophecy an avenue that runs directly to a signal around which can be built a case for how near this generation must be to the rapture. I write of the rapture, and not Christ’s second advent, because in this prophecy Jesus is talking about the first, not the second, phase of His second coming. The first phase is the rapture; the second phase is the moment described in Revelation 19:11, when the King of kings, Jesus Christ, returns dramatically to earth to end man’s humanity-destroying war called Armageddon. Jesus prophesied that at the time of this first phase, the rapture, earth dwellers will be going about life pretty much as usual. It will be like in the days before the great flood. About those days, Jesus said: “They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all” (Lk. 17:27). There were, like in our time, also some strange and sinful things going on in those days–things that finally brought God’s wrath and judgment and the destruction of all but the eight people inside the ark. The particular sinful matter that was going on in Noah’s day that I want to explore a bit is put forth in the following: “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (Gen. 6:11-13). The operative sinful characteristic is: “violence filled the whole earth.” Violence has always been part of the human condition. Cain killed his brother Abel in the first murder. More than 15,000 wars have been the scourge of every generation since Noah and his family left the ark. Cain’s pre-flood slaying of his brother set in motion a visceral propensity within mankind to do violence to fellow humans. Wars waged by the likes of the ancient Assyrians, Egyptians, Babylonians, Medes, Persians, Alexander’s Greek Empire, and the Roman Empire brought tremendous bloodshed down through the millennia. But it was the 20th century, with World Wars 1 and 2, the Korean War, the Vietnamese War, and others that continue into the 21st century that spawned the level of violence that equates to the worldwide violence of Noah’s day just before the great flood. Murderous rage has exploded upon this late hour of human history in most every aspect. Killing rampages that used to be the aberrant acts of the rarely seen serial or spree killers now seem almost a part of homicide considered to be the norm. One specific form of violence that I sense strongly indicates a recently elevated rage that is like the satanic hatred of times just before Noah and the seven others went into the ark is that aimed directly at true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. “An Illinois pastor was shot and killed, and two parishioners injured after an unknown gunman opened fire during Sunday services at the First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill. The gunman walked down the church aisle and briefly spoke to the pastor before shooting during the 8:15 a.m. service. Rev. Fred Winters used the Bible he was reading from to shield himself from the first round of bullets being pumped at him, a parishioner told FOX News. The gunman's .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol jammed after the fourth shot was fired. The suspect then started stabbing himself with a four-inch knife, Ralph Timmins of the Illinois State Police told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch… ‘We have no idea what this guy's motives were,’ [Rev. Mark] Jones said outside the church. ‘We don't know if we'll ever know that.’…” (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,506820,00.html) The murderous violence followed a church shooting July 28, 2008, in Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Two were killed in that rampage and seven were wounded. The motive was determined to be political. School shootings have also continued to escalate. >From the Columbine, Colorado, school shootings and the Jonesboro, Arkansas, school shootings to the mass murders at every level--lower grades to college/university levels--the lists of dead and wounded continues to rise, their perpetration mostly inexplicable in each case. The latest such mass murder demonstrates that the seemingly demoniacal rampages infects the world, not just America. “WINNENDEN, Germany — A teenage gunman killed 15 people, most of them female, on Wednesday in a rampage that began at a school near Stuttgart in southern Germany and ended in a nearby town, where he then killed himself after the police wounded him…” (Carter Dougherty, Victor Homola, and Stefan Pauly, “Teenage Gunman Kills 15 at School in Germany,” New York Times, 2009). So many such instances of violent insanity are piling up that it is difficult to pick and choose which to use as example of end-times violence Jesus described. That fact alone is enough to validate just how much alike are our days and Noah’s. Violence that is such a characteristic of this generation of earth’s inhabitants must certainly be a major indicator sounding from the end-of-days trumpet of warning. It is heralding the glorious prophetic truth that Jesus can at any moment step out upon the clouds of glory and shout, “Come up here!” (Rev. 4:1). --Terry ***The American Apocalypse: Is the United States in Bible prophecy?*** Terry’s new book, “The American Apocalypse: Is the United States in Bible prophecy?” continues to stir interest in helping answer the questions so many have about the flood of issues and events overflowing their daily lives today. Yet, there remains so many to be informed about prophecy God gave through His Word, the Bible, just for such an hour in which we live upon this fallen sphere called Planet earth. Thank you for getting a copy of the book. Please remember to write a review on amazon.com, so those thinking about getting a copy will understand what other readers are saying about the book’s contents. Also, please consider getting a copy for your pastor and others of your church’es staff. God’s word says “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” (Hossea 4: 6) This is especially true in lack of teaching/preaching on Bible prophecy. “The American Apocalypse: Is the United States in Bible prophecy?” is designed to bring readers quickly up-to-speed on what is happening around them from God’s Prophetic Perspective. Your pastor –and other Christians who are family and friends-- need to understand these troubling though exciting times. Christ’s shout “Come up here” must be near, based upon these times of signs. We pray that every Christian in America will begin looking up for their Redemption that is drawing near. (Luke 21: 28) You can help in generating interest among fellow believers. We believe that your and our forewarning during this late hour is building Heavenly Tresures for Watchmen on the Prophetic Wall”. http://www.amazon.com/American-Apocalypse-United-States-Prophecy/dp/0736925058/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233260057&sr=1-1 http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=925051&netp_id=562345&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=covers http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-American-Apocalypse/Terry-James/e/9780736925051/?itm=7

Desperate Sheep Without a Shepherd

Desperate Sheep Without a Shepherd By Jan Markell The "New Age Movement" (NAM) has been around since the days of literal Babylon. It gained new strength in the late 1800s and even more in the 1960s, which was the "Age of Aquarius." While all participants are not occultists, they all do love the supernatural and experiential. They have many "gods." And they believe the delusion that mankind is getting better and better. Because they believe such a myriad of ideas, some call these misguided seekers "cosmic soup." In the 1980s, I gave seminars on this "new spirituality," which it has been renamed in the 21st century. I studied it then and knew it almost as well as those who were enjoying their altered states of consciousness. Thankfully, I wasn't. In more recent years, the cause has been furthered by the woman who never met a false teaching she didn't love --Oprah Winfrey. She has paraded one guru after another on her many platforms and made most of them wildly successful. In 1982, I chuckled at who I thought was just another deluded crackpot, Benjamin Crème, who was taking out full-page ads in multiple newspapers announcing the soon-arrival of Lord Maitraya. This superhero was to come on the scene for the benefit of all religions and belief-systems. He was to be the new "messiah." And while these deceived followers of mystical enlightenment fully believed he could save the world, I wondered if he was just a fantasy in the esoteric minds of Crème -- a John the Baptist type -- and many NAM idealistic dreamers. But now 25 years later, TV commercials are airing about Lord Maitraya! Why was I a doubter? One such commercial can be found here. As a matter of fact, Benjamin Crème and references to Maitraya are found all over the Internet's favorite pastime, YouTube. In the minds of Maitraya's followers, he is just over the horizon ready to appear in his mystical, Eastern glory. Another is here. Once again we see the foundation for the one-world religious system forming. As Chuck Missler said on my radio program this past weekend (February 28), to be posted late Monday, the apparitions of Mary, which are all over the world now, will be a uniter of religions because so many respect her, including Islam. We carry both a book and a DVD of this found here. The Vatican, in fact, may become the infrastructure for the one-world religion. Clearly this "New Age Movement" or "new spirituality" will play a prominent role in the global religion. The antichrist will allow the "false prophet" to have a lying-signs-and- wonders party for 3 ½ years and that's it. From then on, only "Mr. Fix-it" can have all the glory. Only the "man-with-a-plan" will have the spotlight after that. In my study for my seminars some years ago, I learned quickly that almost all who are a part of the cults and false religious systems are like sheep without a shepherd. They are desperate, primed for deception, jumping from one costly therapy, seminar, technique, or group, all seeking the ever-illusive "higher self" and the "god within." They would see themselves as "spiritual" people. They even refer to "the christ within" but it is a counter-christ. They may be shocked when they stand before the Lord and He says to them, "Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who do the will of my Father in Heaven will enter" (Matthew 7:21-23). While there is time, share the gospel with them. Some have a Christian background and have twisted the terms you and I know. They will say they believe in God but it is the "god within." They will flaunt their "Christ consciousness." This is just more end-time deception and delusion but souls are involved so don't write these people off without offering them new life! You are not responsible for their decision. And if you see the Lord Maitraya commercial on TV, use it as a reminder to pray without ceasing for the deception that abounds today. It is also a reminder of the many "false christs" the Bible predicts for the last days. Whether or not there is any credibility in Creme and Maitraya really isn't the point. The point is that many are looking for false saviors today. To better understand the delusion going on today, visit my Web site category of "Spiritual Deception."

Awaiting His return, Jan Markell

Nearing Midnight In depth weekly commentary (Mar 9)

March 9

Iran's Exponential Nuclear Program

The never-ending concern over Iran's nuclear program has surged back into the headlines. A new report by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy says that Israel is seriously considering unilateral military action against Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons.

The report noted that "Israelis see the option fading over the next one to two years, not only because of Iran's nuclear progress and dispersion of its program but also because improved Iranian air defenses, especially the expected delivery of the S-300 surface-to-air missile system from Russia, are seen by Israel seriously limiting its military options."

Another recent news report said that Iran now has enough low-enriched uranium to produce at least one nuclear weapon, and enough raw uranium to produce 30 nukes.

Despite all the turmoil from a recent parliamentary election, Israel’s leaders remain focused on the threat. This weekend, Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin told the Israeli cabinet that Iran had "crossed the technological threshold" and “hopes to exploit the dialogue with the West and Washington to advance toward the production of an atomic bomb."

The key to nuclear bomb production is the enrichment process, in which the isotope uranium-235 is separated from uranium-238 in centrifuges. Natural uranium is 99 percent U-238 and less than one percent U-235. Reactor grade fuel only needs to be 4 percent U-235, while weapons grade material must be purified to 90 percent.

Iran currently has 6,000 centrifuges enriching uranium, and it will soon finish installing another group of 3,000 centrifuges in the next few months. Tehran’s ultimate plan is to move towards large-scale uranium enrichment that will involve 54,000 centrifuges.

Now that Iran has a nuclear reactor in operation, it can also produce plutonium. The spent fuel rods from the reactor have the potential to yield enough plutonium for several atomic bombs. Despite being a nation rich in oil, Iran has decided to build several nuclear power plants. Years ago, I said this was evidence enough that the Iranians will use their so-called “peaceful energy program” to produce atomic weapons.

A huge problem with Iran's nuclear program is the lack of information. Many facilities in Iran have never been visited by nuclear inspectors. The intelligence community can only make best-guess assessments of when Iran will have the bomb. The Iranians may have thousands of centrifuges the West doesn't know about.

The world needs to realize that Iran's nuclear program is growing at an exponential rate. In a few months, it could become unstoppable as it gains the capability of producing dozens of bombs.

The U.S. nuclear program is a good example of how quickly arms production can accelerate: In 1945, after the two nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan, the next bomb was not ready until later in the month of August. By June of 1946, America had a stockpile of nine nuclear weapons. By 1949, we had 200 A-bombs. By 1952, our nuclear arsenal had grown to 2,422.

It's doubtful that Iran will achieve the ability to produce thousands of nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, Iran only needs a few nukes to destroy the state of Israel. Nearly half of the Jewish population lives in three urban areas – Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa.

Israel is very reluctant to launch an attack. Iran now has hundreds of conventional missiles that can reach Israel. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said they would target Israel's nuclear plant in a counter-attack. Hezbollah forces in south Lebanon or Syria might also be drawn into the conflict.

A surprise attack on Iran could be what isolates Israel in the last days. The Bible says that when the Antichrist turns against Israel, no other nation will come to its aid. If nations are angry with Israel now because she decided to defend herself against Gaza rocket strikes, I can’t imagine what will happen if Israel triggers a global oil crisis.

“For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city” (Zech. 14:2).

At some point, Israel's survival instinct will engage and its leaders will give the go-ahead for a strike. Benjamin Netanyahu is about to become Israel's next Prime Minister, and his hawkish stance on defense will certainly add to the drive for action.

-- Todd

End-Times Flood Alert!

Daniel the prophet posted the end-times alert that, I’m convinced, forewarned the end-of-age, birth-pang-like convulsions we are experiencing today. He likened these to a great flood that will gush toward the last generation occupying Planet Earth when the flood occurs: “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof [shall be] with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined” (Dan. 9:26).

Daniel prophesied the same thing the Lord Jesus prophesied when He answered his disciples' questions. “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matt. 24:1-2).

Both Daniel and the Lord were saying there was coming a specific time when the Temple would be completely destroyed. Daniel included the destruction of the city of Jerusalem in the prophecy. He prefaced that prophecy with the statement that first Messiah would be “cut off.” He then indicated an ongoing war that would run the course of human history. The end of that war, which was already determined (foreknown by Almighty God), would gush in flood-like fashion at the very end of that war.

Jesus, in His Olivet prophecy, after foretelling that the Temple would be absolutely leveled, went through the flood of events that will mark the time of the end. That flood, first predicted by Daniel, then given in detail as it would inundate Planet Earth by the Lord, is beginning to surge through our daily headlines, as we of Rapture Ready have persistently been examining through constant updating and analysis.

Since the time of the Roman Empire’s destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple in 70 A.D., following Christ’s crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension, Satan’s war against mankind, against the Jew, against Jesus Christ, has been unceasing. The devil has tried every tactic, from subterfuge within the true Church, world-wide wars, false prophecies, and false teachings that have brought about increasing apostasy to subtle, then phenomenal movement of mankind back to Babel. And there is now the geometric progression toward globalization brought on by the economic crises that threaten to melt and meld national economies into one luciferian governance.

The G-20 meetings scheduled for April, and/or subsequent such world forums to find a common fiscal denominator that will give the world leaders elite the new world economic controls they covet, will likely open the floodgates of Daniel’s prophecy even wider. The United States of America’s role/fate–alone--in this on-rushing flood is a phenomenon to behold. Many of those of us who analyze and report on matters that we sense form potential end-of-the-age prophetic fulfillment stand as astounded as everyone else in consideration of the swiftness of America’s continuing economic decline. We have always put forth that America must lose its status as the world’s greatest superpower–that the U.S. is not mentioned in Bible prophecy. Thus, in order for prophecy to be fulfilled, America must disappear from its prominence, among the nation-states of the world.

At the same time, Israel, it is plain from what God’s Word foretells, must grow in prominence on the world stage, even if it is a prominence that casts an unfavorable light upon God’s chosen nation. Clearly, both things are taking place in a flood of daily news. America is on the decline, Israel’s prominence, in terms of its becoming a perceived stumbling block to world peace, is on the ascendance in world news headlines. Todd and I think one of the most immediate prophetic indicators to watch is the G-20 meetings. The advancement of America and the other key nations into building a new economic world order is key to how quickly the prophesied agglomerate that will bring to power the beast and his regime of Revelation 13:16-18 is developing.

That global arrangement is prophesied in the following:

“And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast” (Rev. 17:12-13).

The G-20 meetings won’t immediately eventuate in this prophetic arrangement. However, the globalist elite’s search for answers that will address the economic distress and perplexity among the nations will likely move mankind dramatically closer to the system described in the Revelation 17:12-13 prophecy.

Perhaps we are about to see flung wide open the floodgates that will unleash Daniel’s end-times torrent. That means that Jesus’ call to His people–the Church—to "Come up here!" might indeed be near.

--Terry

Nearing Midnight In depth weekly commentary (Feb 23)

Feb 23

Donation Drive

This first donation drive of 2009 comes at a time of profound prophetic activity. I've been studying prophecy since the early ‘80s, and I've never seen a time of such dire headlines. Here are some banners I grabbed from Rapture Ready news from a single day:

Iran Holds Enough Uranium for Bomb
North Korea Ready for War
Palestinians Attack Troops with Mortars
Iran Hails Military Ties with Russia
Bank Shares Fall on Nationalization Fear

The news has become so negative, I can see a spirit of weariness sweeping over the body of Christ. With talk of economic collapse and liberals in full control of Washington, D.C. , Christians are becoming passive spectators of world affairs.

Now is not the time to withdraw from supporting the gospel outreach. We are facing a use-it-or-lose-it situation. I plan to go into greater deal next week, but I think our monetary system is doomed, and it’s important to invest your financial resources now while they still have value. You can stick a thousand dollars under your mattress, and five years from now, I doubt it will have enough value to buy a Big Mac at McDonald's.

The economic crisis has not affected the military spending of Russia, China, Iran, and Syria. The global meltdown has severely constrained their economies, yet they continue to spend billions on armament. Both Russia and China are working on totally modernizing their military forces. What they don’t know is that they are doing this to get ready for the fighting that will take place in the tribulation.

We Christians should have the same sense of urgency. The faster things move towards the tribulation hour, the closer we will be to the moment that the Lord Jesus instantly snatches us from this doomed world. What we have to fear the most is the loss of opportunity. When the rapture occurs, there will be no more updating of anything on the site.

Rapture Ready still ranks as the largest and most visited prophecy site on the internet. We have held this status for several years. We now have a network of more than 30 servers. Whenever prophecy becomes active in the news, people flock to RR for answers. Of course, when the ‘Big Event’ takes place, tens of millions of people will stream to the site.

Although we have a very broad audience, we have a very narrow support base. Because the site is so large, with over 20,000 pages, most people who visit RR will never read this Nearing Midnight page.

In order to accomplish all these tasks, the site needs your financial support. I call on every Bible-believing Christian to help us maintain this beacon of hope. As the world literally disintegrates around us, I ask: What other endeavor could possibly be of greater importance?

Rapture Ready also needs your prayer support. I am totally convinced that the reason RR has been so successful is because I periodically ask saints to prayerfully intercede for the site. I’ve seen dozens of other web ministries try every trick in the book to draw people to their domain, with little success. RR thrives because it is built entirely on God’s grace.

A convenient way to contribute to Rapture Ready is through a regular donation. PayPal subscribers and people who have their banks send funds to our P.O. box are a vital part of our ministry. If you're interested in signing up, you can find the link on the Donation Depot page. Donations can also be sent to our P.O. box at:

Rapture Ready Min.
PO Box 185
Boys Town, NE 68010

--Todd

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Russia Helps Iran Forge Nuclear Sword

United Nations officials said Thursday, February 19, that Iran now has enough enriched uranium to produce one nuclear bomb. This revelation comes just as the Obama Administration is drawing up its policy on negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.

“It appears that Iran has walked right up to the threshold of having enough low enriched uranium to provide enough raw material for a single bomb,” said Peter Zimmerman, a former chief scientist of the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.

The new figures come in a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, released on Thursday. This revealed that Iran’s production of low enriched uranium had previously been underestimated.

When the agency carried out an annual stocktaking of Natanz in mid-November, Iran had produced 839kg of low enriched uranium hexafluoride – more than 200kg more than previously thought. Tehran produced an additional 171kg by the end of January.

“It’s sure certain that if they didn’t have it [enough] when the IAEA took these measurements, they will have it in a matter of weeks,” Mr. Zimmerman said (“Iran holds enough uranium for bomb,” Daniel Dombey, Washington, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f367aada-fec8-11dd-b19a-000077b07658.html).

Experts say Iran has now reached the point it has enough fissile material to build a bomb in just a matter of months. This is a red line that Israel has previously said it could not allow Iran to cross.

The Middle East continues to be perched on the cusp of action that diplomats around the world fear could be a trigger to the first unleashing of atomic warfare since the end of World War II when America bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared on numerous occasions that he intends to wipe Israel from the face of the Middle East. This isn’t just the raving of a mad dictator. Ahmadinejad is a deeply committed Muslim of the most radical sort who believes that bringing on Armageddon will cause the twelfth Imam, the Islamic version of the Messiah, to come forth and install Islam as the one religion on earth. This action can only take place when Israel and the “great Satan,” America, are removed from the planet, so the ravings go. The likelihood of Binyamin Netanyahu becoming Israel’s next prime minister sets the international community’s collective teeth on edge even more, the right wing leader of Likud having vowed to do whatever is necessary to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

Russia is complicit in the apocalyptic scheme of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and others who take the Koran at its horrific, literal worst. This does not surprise the student of Bible prophecy who reads God’s Word literally when studying prophecy yet future.

It is clear in reading the Gog-Magog invasion account in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 that Russia–Rosh—will be at the forefront of taking the Israel-hating coalition down over the “mountains of Israel.” Though Gog, the Russian leader, will have much different “spoil” (KJV) in mind than will the Islamics such as Persia (Iran), the amalgamation of people who intend to wipe Israel from the Middle East map will be driven by the same master as the nations from the West who will send a diplomatic note of protest. Antichrist’s budding regime will crave the one place on earth that is the center of God’s dealing with mankind.

I believe that while Gog will want primarily the oil fields of the Middle East in order to procure exclusively all oil of the region, the Islamics will be driven by ancient hatreds stemming back to the rift between Ishmael and Isaac, between Esau and Jacob. Antichrist will want Mt. Moriah and the very spot where the Ark of the Covenant sat within the Holy of Holies. It all makes for a quite volatile mixture that we can see beginning to form in our headlines today.

To begin this course of luciferian action, Russia and Iran must collude to develop a sphere of influence in the region. Russia has been hard at work in making the most of forming alliances in areas north of Israel. Particularly, that prophetic nation has been working to help Iran’s nuclear program come to fruition.

MOSCOW — Iran’s defense minister said today he hopes to obtain new weapons from Russia to upgrade the nation’s arsenals.

Iran has relied on Russian military assistance in the past and hopes to continue doing so, Mostafa Mohammed Najjar said…

Najjar wouldn’t elaborate on what specific weapons Iran was seeking. He met with his Russian counterpart and toured some Russians weapons plants during his five-day visit that began Monday…

Russia also has supplied weapons to Iran, including Tor-M1 air-defense missiles, despite U.S. and Israeli complaints. However, Russian officials have rejected claims that they have provided Iran with more powerful, long-range S-300 air defense missile systems.

Supplying the S-300s to Iran would markedly change the military balance in the Middle East and the issue has been the subject of intense speculation and diplomatic wrangling for months… (“Iran hails military ties with Russia” www.bostonherald.com)

With the core of the Gog-Magog corps stage center in developments for the wind-up of human history, the nuclear sword about to dangle precipitously above God’s chosen nation like the mythical sword of Damocles, it is again incumbent upon us to issue Jesus’ admonition: “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28).

--Terry

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***Terry to Speak on The American Apocalypse: Is The United States in Bible Prophecy?***

Terry will address the crucial topics covered by his new book with Harvest House Publishers in a one-day prophecy conference with Southwest Radio Church Ministries on Saturday, April 18, 2009. The conference will be held in Little Rock, Arkansas, at Embassy Suites. We will post details as soon as they are available.

Southwest Radio Church is the oldest Christian broadcast in America, having been continuously on the air since 1933. To check their website, go to swrc.com.

Terry’s three half-hour programs with Dr. Noah Hutchings, pastor and president of Southwest Radio Church Ministries, will be aired in March. We will give a heads-up on when they can be heard. After that, the broadcasts will be archived on swrc.com.

Terry and Todd prayerfully hope many of our Rapture Ready family and friends can be with us at Little Rock, which is centrally located in Arkansas, and in the nation.

***More details in the coming weeks***