How do government leaders really get elected? Is it purely by votes or is another selection mechanism at work? See the slideshow here for more information.

By Maria Kneas, May 8th, 2024

Spiritual warfare is increasing. The spiritual atmosphere keeps getting darker. And in the world around us, we are seeing more and more evil. Shameless, in-your-face evil that we never could have imagined a few years ago. Rampant delusion and insanity. And widespread lawlessness that keeps increasing.
 
As Christians, we need to do two kinds of reconnaissance in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones. And in order to be able to be effective in doing practical things to resist this evil.
 
The first kind of reconnaissance that is needed is the obvious one of studying the enemy. Its strengths and weaknesses. Its strategies. And its practical tactics. Plus identifying its enablers.
 
The second kind is something that we can easily overlook because we have become distracted by looking at the enemy and the damage that it is doing. And because we have become war weary.
 
We need to study ourselves in order to see if there are any ways that the enemy can readily get at us. Do we have vulnerabilities? Do we have a soft underbelly, or an Achilles heel? Because if we do, then the enemy can harm us. And that will cause problems not only for us, but also for people we love.
 
The Bible warns us about some things that we need to watch out for. I’m only mentioning a few here, but there are others as well. We need to be on guard for all of them. In addition, we can ask God to cleanse our hearts. Psalm 19:12 says, “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.”
 
Because of that Scripture passage, every day I ask God to deal with my blind spots. With the problems I have that I’m not aware of. (Or maybe only partially aware of.) To give me “ears to hear” what He is saying to me. To make me willing and able to see what He wants me see. And to make me willing and able to do whatever He wants me to do about it.
 
With the way that the world keeps getting more and more evil and insane, all of us have to deal with fear and anger and discouragement. All of those are natural responses to being faced with evil. Especially when it sometimes seems to be overwhelming.
 
For me, the primary problem is fear. (But sometimes I get quite angry.) For strong men, the primary problem is likely to be anger. (But they also have to deal with fear and discouragement.) For some people, the primary problem is discouragement.
 
When discouragement hits, it’s good to remind ourselves that God is willing and able to keep us going until our tour of duty is over. We are weak, but Almighty God can enable us to be faithful soldiers. God can give us the strength and courage and faithfulness that we need in order to be able to do that.
 
Of course, we all have other ways that the enemy of our souls can get to us. Weaknesses. And blind spots. And areas of vulnerability. And we all get war weary. Therefore, it’s good to keep asking God to deliver us from these areas of weakness and vulnerability. To make us aware of them and show us how to overcome them. To make us be strong enough to keep on fighting. And to enable us to fight effectively.
 
When it comes to dealing with fear and discouragement, it helps to keep remembering Eternity. Our time down here on earth is SO brief compared to Eternity.
 
While we are here on earth, time seems to go by slowly. But remember what the Apostle Paul said:  “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)
 
Remember who talked about a “light affliction” that was only “for a moment.” This is the Apostle Paul who was beaten, stoned and left for dead, thrown into a Roman prison, betrayed, shipwrecked, had times of extreme hunger, was attacked by mobs, etc.
 
Now I’ll put that in terms of us personally, here in modern America. If some horribly evil people do something terrible to us, the worst that they can do is to cause temporary suffering and death. But if we love God, then we will be in Heaven with Jesus, rejoicing for all Eternity. And the same applies to the people we love.
 
There are NO exceptions to Romans 8:28. God promised to make ALL things work out for the good of those who love Him. And therefore, no matter what anybody does to us, if we love God, then eventually we will look back at what happened to us and be grateful that we went through it because of the good that God brought out of it.
 
A good example of that is what happened to Joseph in Egypt. His brothers meant it for evil. But God meant it for good. And God brought great good out of all of the suffering that Joseph went through. Not only for Joseph, but for his entire family. And for multitudes of people in Egypt.
 
When dealing with anger, it helps to remember what the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 6:12:  “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
 
Remember that many of these seriously evil people are literally demon possessed. Or else they are being controlled by (or heavily influenced by) evil men and women who are possessed. Either way, they are being used by puppet masters. Our real enemy is the devil. Not the puppets.
 
It also helps to remember Romans 12:19. The Apostle Paul said, “Do not take revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written, ‘Vengeance belongs to me. I will pay them back, declares the Lord.’”
 
Now that does NOT mean letting evil people get away with things. We can fight them and their agenda tooth and nail. But at the same time, we can do that without hating them or trying to get revenge.
 
In Matthew 5:44, Jesus told us:  “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”
 
How in the world can we do that with somebody as wicked as George Soros? Here are some things that help me do it:
 
(1) We don’t know how they got that way. They may have been tormented and deceived and deluded since childhood. They may be possessed by demons.
 
(2) Obviously they don’t deserve love and prayer. But neither do I. Because of my sins, I deserve to go to hell. But in spite of that, Jesus loves me and He forgave me. Therefore I should show my love and gratitude to Jesus by obeying Him.
 
(3) The one thing that I can do for horribly wicked people is to pray for their salvation. That shows them love, and it blesses them, and it is praying for them.
 
(4) Jesus paid a terrible price in order to enable those people to be able to get saved. And Jesus should get what He paid for. Therefore, I can pray for their salvation for the sake of Jesus. Because I love Jesus and I want Jesus to get what He paid for.

(5) Forgiving is a way of showing loyalty to Jesus. It’s a way of showing Jesus that my love for Him is more important than my anger at those horrible people. That my relationship with Jesus is more important than my feelings about those people.
 
The Bible gives us an important warning about anger. There can be righteous anger. We see that when Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers in the Temple. However, because of our sin nature, even our most righteous anger isn’t 100% righteous. And over time it can gradually morph into becoming unrighteous. Therefore, long-term anger can give the devil ways of getting at us. Only God is holy enough to have His anger be 100% righteous. And have it remain totally righteous.
 
Here is what the Apostle Paul told us in Ephesians 4:26-27. He said:  “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.”
 
Some translations use the term “place” but others say “opportunity.” The Greek word is “topos” and it is Strong’s 5117. It can mean place, situation, or opportunity.  In military terms, that would be a beachhead. A place from which to launch an attack.
 
Here is something that the Apostle Peter said. This applies to fear and anger and discouragement and any other kind of emotion. In 1 Peter 5:8 he said:  “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
 
The Webster 1828 dictionary gives five definitions of the word “sober.” One of them is, “Regular; calm; not under the influence of passion; as sober judgment; a man in his sober senses.”
 
If we become overwhelmed by any kind of emotion, then that can impair our judgment. It can make us  become less vigilant, because we have become preoccupied by our feelings. And that can give the devil (and his minions) an opportunity to get at us.
 
Here is another important principle. Jesus told us to forgive. In Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus said: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Jesus said that immediately after giving the disciples the Lord’s Prayer.
 
Obviously, forgiving is very important to Jesus. That’s a problem, because sometimes it can be VERY difficult to do. For example, I know a woman who had to forgive the drunk driver who killed her son. And Corrie ten Boom had to forgive the Nazi guards who tormented her and her sister Betsy in a German concentration camp. Betsy died there.
 
There have been times in my life when I was hurt so deeply that it was very difficult to even want to try to forgive those people. I had to start out by asking God to make me be willing and able to forgive. Here are some things that have helped me forgive when it was difficult:
 
(1) That person obviously does not deserve to be forgiven. But neither did I. Because of my sins, I deserved to go to hell. However, in spite of my sins, Jesus forgave me. Jesus was willing to be tortured to death on a cross, in order to enable me to be forgiven.
 
(2) Jesus told me that because He forgave me, I should forgive other people. That includes people who have done harmful things to me and to people I love. I should forgive them. However, that does NOT mean allowing them to keep on doing harmful things. I can forgive the person and at the same time protect myself and my loved ones.
 
(3) If I don’t forgive, then I am disobeying Jesus. I am rebelling against Jesus. How can I say that Jesus is my Lord and Master if I refuse to try to obey Him?
 
(4) If I don’t forgive, then I have given my anger at that person priority over my love for Jesus. That is a form of idolatry. It is putting my feelings about somebody above the Lordship of Jesus.

(5) Doing what Jesus tells me to do is a way of showing love and loyalty to Him. Therefore, I try to forgive out of loyalty to Jesus. And love for Jesus. And the desire to obey Jesus, who is my Lord and my Master. I want to be his “good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21, 23)

(6) When it’s really difficult, then I ask Jesus to make me be willing to forgive. With Corrie ten Boom, for her it was so difficult, that her starting point was to ask Jesus to make her be willing to be willing to forgive. The point is to move in the right direction, as much as we are able to.
 
We are living in challenging times. But God knew when we should be born. And He has work for us to do here and now.
 
Chuck Missler said that our time on earth is Boot Camp. That God is training us and preparing us and equipping us for the work that He has for us to do when Jesus rules and reigns from Jerusalem for a thousand years. And for whatever God has for us to do after that.
 
God is faithful and He loves us. And God’s power is beyond our comprehension. Almighty God created the universe, and He holds it together with the word of His power.
 
God’s love and power and wisdom and faithfulness have no limits. Therefore, no matter what happens to us, because we love God, He will make it work out for our long-term good. And when we get to Heaven, then we will look back and be grateful for everything that we went through because of the good that God brought out of it.

Below are some references to what many believers call the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. The final Tribulation period described in the Book of Revelation is 7 years long and occurs right before the Second Coming of Jesus who will then rule and reign.

Some teach the Church goes through half (Mid-Trib), most (Pre-Wrath) or all (Post-Trib) of the Tribulation period, but the Apostle Paul and others at the formation of the Christian church taught to always be on the lookout for Jesus' return in the clouds to gather His elect BEFORE the tribulation of those days. The Tribulation is also known as "the time of Jacob's trouble" which is another reason it is intended for Israel and not Christians.

Everyone has to do their own research to see what view lines up best with Scripture. I find the removal of true believers before the Tribulation to make the most sense. Some believe tribulation is still about the Christian church and don't see Israel having much of a role. Other read the scriptures and see that this 7 year period is a time of testing only for the Jews and Israel as 2,000 years ago they did not see Jesus as their Messiah. This means we Christians are not to be punished or go through the same trials as the rest of the world.

Paul and others wrote about the "blessed hope" Christians have in the soon return of Jesus. Here is a link to more about that. Below are some pics containing information on the Blessed Hope of the Church.

Here is a link to a long study of reasons to believe the Pre-Trib view is the correct one. But, again, we each have to study to see what makes sense to us. Believing in God the Father and Jesus the Son is the most important thing.

The current state of Israel is leading to what the prophet Zechariah wrote in chapter 12.

Zechariah 12 – Mourning for The Pierced One

A. God defends Israel against her enemies.

1. (1-4) God supernaturally defends Israel against attack.

The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling (drunkenness) to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. In that day,” says the LORD, “I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.”

a. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens: The section begins with praise for God’s creative power, reminding us that He is in control and completely able to accomplish what He predicts.

b. I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling (drunkenness) to all the surrounding peoples: God says that in a coming day Jerusalem will intoxicate and stupefy the surrounding peoples. The Arab peoples surrounding Jerusalem have a passion for possessing the city that is not justified by history.

• Muslims claim Jerusalem as their third-holiest city, but Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran. In addition, “During the centuries when Jerusalem was under complete Arab control, no Arab ruler or Islamic leader ever made it the object of a religious pilgrimage – again a strange indifference toward a city which is now considered to be the third-holiest religious site in Islam after Mecca and Medina” (Dave Hunt).
  
• Jerusalem’s importance to Muslims comes from the belief that in the Dome of the Rock shrine there is a rock where two significant things happened – where Abraham intended to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, and where Mohammed allegedly ascended into heaven. Though this tradition is firmly in the Muslim mind, it is of recent origin. It was invented by Yasser Arafat’s uncle – Haj Amin el-Husseini, who was the past Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. He promoted this myth in the 1920’s and 1930’s to arouse Arab passions against the growing Jewish presence in Jerusalem.
  
• The verse in the Koran that describes Mohammed’s trip to heaven is Surah 17:1: Glorified be He who carried His servant by night from the Inviolable Place of Worship to the Far Distant Place [al-Aqsa] of Worship the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens! The Islamic interpretation says that the Inviolable Place of Worship is Mecca, and this is accepted by all. It then says that the Far Distant Place of Worship is Jerusalem – but this has no substantiation because Jerusalem had never been a place of Islamic worship to that time, nor would it be for centuries afterward. Jerusalem isn’t even mentioned by name in the Koran, so how could it be a place of worship according to the Koran? Most significantly, inside the Dome of the Rock hundreds of verses from the Koran are inscribed – and Surah 17:1 is not among them! The very passage that later supposedly justified the building of the Dome of the Rock is not even included among the hundreds of passages of the Koran inscribed in it!
  
• The Dome of the Rock was built not because of the Koran, but because the Muslim ruler Abdal-Malik wanted to gain revenue from pilgrims and worshippers, and because he wanted to prevent the rebuilding of a Jewish Temple. Islamic passion for Jerusalem is indeed like drunkenness.
  
• This is exactly fulfilled in modern Jerusalem. In recent peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Israel was willing to concede almost everything to the Palestinians in an amazing willingness to make peace. The only thing Israel would not concede was sovereignty over Jerusalem, and the entire deal was ruined over that one point. The problem between Jews and the Arab world has boiled down to one point: Jerusalem.
  
• If Muslim passion for Jerusalem is a mystery, the Jewish claim to the city is entirely Scriptural. “The very fact that Jerusalem is mentioned more than 800 times in the Bible makes it worthy of special attention. This unique city is the only one upon which God has bestowed His distinctive blessing and protection (Psa_132:13-14), and the only city for whose peace we are commanded to pray (Psa_122:6). God says He has chosen Jerusalem as the place where He has put His name forever (2Ch_6:6; 2Ch_33:7; Psa_46:4; Psa_48:1-8; Psa_87:3). The new heavens and new earth will contain ‘the city of my God...new Jerusalem’ (Rev_3:12; Rev_21:2). That there will be a ‘heavenly Jerusalem’ (Heb_12:22) but no ‘heavenly’ New York, Paris, London, Damascus, Cairo, etc. speaks volumes” (Dave Hunt, The Berean Call – September 2000).
  

c. I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples: If Jerusalem will be a cup of drunkenness to all her surrounding peoples, it will be a heavy stone – a burden – for all peoples, presenting a problem that cannot be solved (all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces).

• “Consider how remarkable even this one prophecy is. Who could have imagined when the Old Testament was written that all the nations of the world would be involved in deciding the fate of Israel? And this involvement of all nations in dividing Israel has occurred exactly as prophesied and is still in the process of being implemented.” (Dave Hunt)
  

d. I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness: Though the nations come against Jerusalem with fury, God will protect her. This will find an ultimate fulfillment in the Battle of Armageddon, but we may see an earlier fulfillment any day now.

2. (5-9) God supernaturally empowers His people.

“And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the LORD of hosts, their God.’ In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place; Jerusalem. The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”

• I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile: In that day God will deliver Israel not only through His direct work, but also through blessing and empowering both the governors and inhabitants of Jerusalem. They will be supernaturally empowered by God to defend the city.
  
• In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David: King David was renowned for his fighting ability, courage, and success. God promised a day when the weakest in Jerusalem will be as mighty as David – and the leaders could only be compared in might to God!
  

B. God gives Israel a spirit of humble repentance.

1. (10) Mourning for the pierced One.

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”
a. And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication: Part of this great outpouring of strength and might to defend Jerusalem will be an outpouring of the Spirit – but for grace and supplication. God will move among Israel and bring saving grace and repentant prayer.
b. Then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son: As Jerusalem is supernaturally defended and the Spirit is poured out on the nation, they will turn to Jesus, the pierced One. His head was pierced with thorns, His hands and feet were pierced with nails, and a spear pierced His side.

• They will look: They will turn away from their trust in the foolish, worthless shepherd and turn their focus on the Good Shepherd. When we see Jesus crucified – understanding why He went to the cross and what He accomplished there – we are drawn to Him in humble repentance (Joh_12:32).
  
• They will look on Him whom they pierced. They will realize that they did it, and that they bear responsibility – not sole responsibility, but responsibility nonetheless – for the crucifixion of their Savior.
  
• They will mourn: The Jewish people will turn to Jesus in repentance, mourning their past rejection of Him. The mourning will be deep, as if for an only son, the firstborn. Firstborn was synonymous with the most beloved.
  
• This will fulfill the amazing promise of Rom_11:26 (And so Israel will be saved) and many other passages that tell us that before the physical return of Jesus to this earth, the Jewish people – as a whole – will welcome Him as their Lord and Savior. The whole context of Zechariah 12 puts this radical conversion in the setting of miraculous deliverance from an attack from the nations.
  

c. They will look… they will mourn: Here we see the pattern for coming to Jesus and true repentance. First we look to Jesus, then we mourn for our sins. Looking to Jesus must come first.

• “A great mistake is very common among all classes of men – it is currently believed that we are first of all to mourn for our sins, and then to look by faith to our Lord Jesus Christ. Most persons who have any concern about their souls, but are not as yet enlightened by the Spirit of God, think that there is a degree of tenderness of conscience, and of hatred of sin, which they are to obtain somehow or other, and then they will be permitted and authorized to look to Jesus Christ. Now you will perceive that this is not according to the Scripture, for, according to the text before us. men first look upon him whom they have pierced, and then, but not till then, they mourn for their sin.” (Spurgeon)
  
• “It is a beautiful remark of an old divine, that eyes are made for two things at least; first, to look with, and next, to weep with. The eye which looks to the pierced One is the eye which weeps for him.” (Spurgeon)
  

d. They will look upon Me: Comparing Zec_12:10 with Zec_12:1; Zec_12:3 (Thus says the LORD… says the LORD) makes it clear that the Me they look upon is the LORD God – Yahweh – Himself. This is astounding and wonderful evidence that Jesus the pierced One is God, and that Yahweh is the Triune God.

• Simply said, the Father sends the Spirit so that men would look upon the Son.
  

2. (11-14) The great mourning of repentance.

“In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.”
a. A great mourning in Jerusalem: The repentance that comes to Israel in that day will be like a great mourning, the ultimate fulfillment of the Day of Atonement, the day of national mourning over their greatest sin – rejecting Jesus.
b. Like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon: This refers to the mourning over King Josiah’s death (2Ki_23:29 and 2Ch_35:20-25). He was such a godly king that the whole nation wept bitterly at his death.
c. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: This indicates there will be both great individual repentance and great corporate repentance. It seems fantastic to us that Israel as a whole would turn to Jesus and repent of their sin of rejecting their Savior – it is so amazing that we would not believe it unless the Bible so clearly taught it.

• “We know of a surety, because God has said it, that the Jews will be restored to their own land, and that they shall inherit the goodly country which the Lord has given unto their fathers by a covenant of salt for ever; but, better still, they shall be converted to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and shall see in him the house of David restored to the throne of Israel.” (Spurgeon)