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1. ARE NATURAL DISASTERS "BIRTH PANGS"? The Last Days' "birth pangs" found in Matthew 24 are already beginning, say many Bible Scholars, and natural disasters are a part of that scenario. Throughout recorded history, the frequency of natural disasters has increased and decreased through the years, but there does seem to be a growing pessimism that we are entering a new age of cataclysm and atmospheric decay. About 70 000 people died in the Sichuan Province of China in a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in May, and 10 million were left homeless. In California, scientists recently rehashed scary details about the coming "Big One" along the mighty San Andreas Fault, capable of shaking Los Angeles suburbs with terrible consequences. In Mark 13:8, Jesus mentioned earth-quakes in His list of "End Times signs" as "the beginning of sorrows," and in Ezekiel 38:19, the prophet said of these times, "Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel." In a recent report, Israeli seismologists speculate that a 7.0 earthquake could happen at any time in Israel since the country is located in the earthquake region near the Syrian-African rift. Scientists warn that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Al Aqsa Mosque, and the Wailing Wall could be damaged or destroyed. Earthquakes are not the only concern in these times. The US is nearing a record tornado year, and meteorologists can't figure out why. The midwest portion of the United States suffered under extreme flooding in June. Unusual floods also occurred in Africa, Mexico, and parts of Central America. An international organization analyzed data from various sources and found that the Earth is currently experiencing approximately 500 natural disasters per year, compared to only 120 disasters recorded in the early 1980s. It seems that something is happening to the Earth, whether or not we call these natural disasters the prophetic "birth pangs" for the coming end of the age. www.thekingiscoming.com 2. NATURAL DISASTERS HAVE QUADRUPLED IN TWO DECADES More than four times the number of natural disasters are occurring now than did two decades ago, according to a study which blames global warming. "Rising greenhouse gas emissions are the major cause of weather-related disasters and must be tackled," said British Charity Oxfam, which released the study recently, adding that the world's poorest people were being hit the hardest. The world suffered about 120 natural disasters per year in the early 1980s in comparison with the current figure of about 500 per year, according to the report. "This year [2007], we have seen floods in South Asia, across the breadth of Africa and Mexico that have affected more than 250 million people," noted Oxfam Director Barbara Stocking. "This is no freak year. It follows a pattern of more frequent, more erratic, more unpredictable and more extreme weather events that are affecting more people." The number of people affected by extreme natural disasters, meanwhile, has surged by almost 70%, from 174 million a year between 1985 to 1994, to 254 million people a year between 1995 to 2004, Oxfam said. Floods and wind-storms have increased from 60 events in 1980 to 240 last year, with flooding itself up six-fold. The Oxfam study was compiled using data from the Red Cross, the United Nations and specialist researchers at Louvain Univer-sity in Belgium. Source: http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/1722/natural-disasters-have-quadrupled-two-decades 3. BLOOD MOON ECLIPSES: IMPLICATIONS FOR CHRIST'S RETURN? Will Jesus Christ return to Earth in the year 2015? And can studying NASA's website provide evidence for such a scenario? A minister who promotes the Old Testa-ment roots of Christianity suggests a rare string of lunar and solar eclipses said to fall on God's annual holy days seven years from now could herald what's come to be known as the "Second Coming" of Jesus. "God wants us to look at the Biblical calendar," says Mark Biltz, pastor of El Shaddai Ministries in Bonney Lake, Washington. "The reason we need to be watching is [because] He will signal His appearance. But we have to know what to be watching for as well. So we need to be watching the Biblical holidays." In a video interview on the Prophecy in the News website, Biltz said he's been studying prophecies that focus on the sun and moon, even going back to the book of Genesis where it states the lights in the sky would "be for signs, and for seasons. " Biltz adds the word "seasons" implies appoin-ted times for God's feasts and festivals. "When we hear the word feast, we think food. But the Hebrew word has nothing to do with food. It has to do with a divine appointment..." In the Old Testament, the prophet Joel states, "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD comes" (Joel 2:31). In the New Testament, Jesus is quoted as saying, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light... And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:29-30). Gary Stearman of Prophecy in the News noted, "When we think of the sun being darkened and the moon not giving her light, we usually think of some astrono-mical catastrophe - perhaps the sun sput-tering and the moon being affected by all this. But maybe it's time to rethink this a little bit and think of it as a natural cycle, the cycle of the eclipses." Thus, Biltz began focusing on the precise times of both solar and lunar eclipses, sometimes called "blood moons" since the moon often takes on a bloody colour. He logged onto NASA's Eclipse Website which provides precision tracking of the celestial events. He noted a rare pheno-menon of four consecutive total lunar eclipses, known as a tetrad. He says during this century, tetrads occur at least six times, but what's interesting is that the only string of four consecutive blood moons that coincide with God's holy days of Passover in the Spring and the Autumn's Feast of Tabernacles (also called Succoth) occurs between 2014 and 2015 on the Gregorian calendar. "The fact that it doesn't happen again in this century I think is very significant," Biltz explains. "So then I looked at last century, and, believe it or not, the last time that four blood red moons occurred together [on these feasts] was in 1967 and 1968 tied to Jerusalem recaptured by Israel." He then started to notice a pattern of the tetrads. "What's significant to me is that even before 1967... you had four blood red moons again right after Israel became a nation in 1948: in 1949 and 1950... on Passover and Succoth. You didn't have any astronomical tetrads in the 1800s, the 1700s, the 1600s. In the 1500s, there were six, but none of those fell on Passover and Succoth." When checking the schedule for solar eclipses, Biltz found two - one on the first day of the Hebrew year and the next on the high holy day of Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the seventh Hebrew month. Both of these take place in the 2014 - 2015 year. Biltz says, "You have the religious year beginning with the total solar eclipse, two weeks later a total lunar eclipse on Passover, and then the civil year beginning with the solar eclipse followed two weeks later by another total blood red moon on the Feast of Succoth all in 2015." "If you think that this is a coincidence, I want you to know that it's time!" exclaimed Prophecy in the News host J.R. Church. "There are no more of these for the rest of the century." The prospect of eclipses pin-pointing the time of Jesus' return is getting mixed reaction in Christian circles. After seeing Biltz's interview, Jim Bramlett, an author and former vice-president for the Christian Broadcasting Network, expres-sed excitement. "I have just watched the program two times and do not think I have ever been more encouraged or excited about the soon return of the Lord!" Bramlett said. But Hal Lindsey, a well-known Biblical analyst and author of "The Late Great Planet Earth," says while he hasn't heard of Biltz's theory, he called it "pure speculation." "In my 50-something years of studying prophecy, to me the greatest indication of the time of Christ's return is based around the general things of prophecies coming together in the same time frame." He mentioned not only Israel's birth as a political state in 1948, but the increase in tensions with Muslims, the rise of Russia, China and the European Union, which he says is even "calling itself the revived Roman Empire." "I see the whole sweep and pano-rama spinning together in a precise scenario, " he said. During a second video interview, Biltz was presented with Bible quotes that many think suggest Jesus' return will be a complete surprise, or at least not specifically known. The 25th chapter of Matthew features a parable where Jesus likens His kingdom to ten virgins all waiting for the arrival of their bridegroom. Jesus said in the story, "ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh" (Matthew 25:13). Biltz says people need to examine the quote in its proper context. "When He says you don't know the day or the hour, He's speaking to the foolish virgins, not the wise virgins," he explained. Biltz was also asked about the famous statement in Matthew 24:36 when Jesus was discussing the signs of His "coming, and of the end of the world": "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (Matthew 24:36). He responded by referring to the annual Feast of Trumpets holiday, saying Israelites never knew the precise moment it began, "because it was based on the sighting of the new moon." "When He (Jesus) says you won't know the day or the hour, He's telling you it's the Feast of Trumpets because that was known as the feast where no one knew the day or the hour that it would begin," said Biltz. Church stressed despite the information suggesting 2015 could be a pivotal time, "We don't know that that will be the concluding year of the tribulation period... so we're NOT SETTING a date and saying this is a warning. We're introducing the POSSI-BILITY of a watch." http://www.worldnetdaily.com (Further reading: http://gracethrufaith.com/) 4. PREPARE FOR THE LORD'S RETURN! (5 DAYS IN HEAVEN AND HELL) Jesus approached me, touched my head and told me: "I am Jesus who died for you. Look at these marks in my hands, they are still there for you. I came down from My Throne of glory to speak to you; there are many things in your life to put right. You are lazy and quick-tempered. Moreover, I do not want 25% Christian nor 95%, but 100%. If you want to go to heaven, you have to be holy as I Myself am holy; I came to take you on a journey". The Lord Who was holding me by the hand said: "Look"! Dear brothers and sisters, I just came to realize that HELL IS REAL! I wept and wept, and when I looked at the Lord, He told me: "Hold on to what you have seen, and do not forget it". Then I asked Him: "Lord is there anyone that I know here?" "Yes", said the Lord and I will allow you to see him. Suddenly I saw a young man coming from the depths of the hell: It was Alexander. I met this young man at a crusade my husband and I attended in the Dominican Republic. During that crusade, I heard a voice say to me, "Get up, go and meet Alexander who is passing by. Tell him not to reject this message, for I'm giving him a last chance". This was the Voice of the Lord. I told Alexander what the Lord had told me. This is how he responded: "You Christians are all fools. You deceive people by telling them that Jesus Christ is coming. I, Alexander, do not believe this to be the truth". I told him: "Alexander, God gives life and takes it away when He wants. Alexander, you will soon die. He answered: "I am too young to die, I still have many good years of festivities on this earth." This chance was well and truly the last for Alexander. Dear reader, where do you stand? Three weeks later, Alexander died while he was drunk. His destination was this place of torment where I saw him (hell). The Bible states clearly that a drunkard will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5: 21). I could see Alexander screaming! He was being tormented. He recognized me and told me: "I forfeited my last chance. I am here today, suffering. Please, when you return to earth, go to my family and tell them to believe in Jesus Christ and to obey His Word, so that they will not come to this place of torment." I asked the Lord: "ARE THERE CHRISTIANS IN THIS HELL?", He answered: "Yes, do you know why? They believed in Me but they did not walk according to my Word. There are many Christians who only behave well when they are in church, in front of their pastors and family. But they are greatly deceiving themselves. The eyes of my Father see everything. Tell My people it's time that they lived a holy life before My Father, before the devil, and before the world. Let the devil have no right to accuse My people; and let the world not point a finger at My people. It's high time they sought holiness and consecration " (1 Peter 1: 14-16). The Lord then told me: "Be very careful about the things I'm going to show you". I saw Christians who were weak and tired. The Lord asked me: "Do you believe that I can take this Church away in its present state? Christians that I will take away with Me will be glorious, triumphant, spotless, blameless. Among My people there are lies, lack of love, My people are divided. I showed you the condition of Christians in these last days; now I'm going to show you how the early Church lived. Those brothers and sisters were filled with the glory of God. They constantly fasted and prayed; they preached my word without any fear, whereas present Christians think that I have changed. They also think that the Holy Spirit has changed. The big mistake of Christians today is the fact that they live a routine life, planned by human minds. Tell My servants, the pastors, that the time has come to stop planning those routine programs. If they do, they will see the power of God in their midst. The Holy Spirit will perform signs, miracles and wonders in great number, causing the dead to rise. The Holy Spirit is still the same, it's you who have changed". I next saw the river of the water of life flowing from the Throne. I also saw the tree of life, and at the other end I saw a rainbow and a river of crystal. Even though I did not see the Father, I saw thunder and flashes of lightning coming from the Throne and I heard praises. Jesus told me: "Do you hear these praises? These are the praises of those who are re-deemed". I saw seven angels, each one of them holding a golden bowl; and seven others (angels), each holding a trumpet. "Lord, who are these angels?" The Lord answered: "The seven bowls that the angels hold are filled with the wrath of God. They will soon be poured out and when the trumpet sounds, My Church (those Christians who live according to the will of My Father) will be caught up before the Antichrist manifests himself (1 Thessalonians 4:16). They will no longer be on earth during the Great Tribulation. After that, I saw the appearance of the man of sin. He told the inhabitants of the earth: "I'm bringing you peace and safety". Imme-diately people forgot the event that had just taken place. Jesus told me: "Look carefully!" I saw in the vision the seven angels with the seven bowls. Dear friend, what was happening was difficult to describe; I saw the angels pouring out the seven bowls of the wrath of God on the earth; whole countries disappeared. The Lord told me: "Look! All these people were part of My Church, some were pastors". Because I did not fully understand this, I asked the Lord: "How is it that so many of Your people have been left behind? How is it that there are also pastors among them, those who preached Your Word?" Jesus answered: "Yes, they had preached My Word, but they were not living in accordance with My Word. There are also those who gave another interpretation to My Word. My Word is My Word, and no one can change it. It must be preached as it is written. There are many among My people who distort My Word for their own profit ." When we reached the third heaven, I saw angels bustling from one side to the other. Then I asked the Lord: "Why are these angels so busy?" Jesus answered: "It's true that My angels are busy, but I'm going to show you how on the earth there is also lots of activity. Be careful because many demons have invaded the earth. The devil is furious against Christians because he has little time left". The Lord allowed me to see those demons, terribly angry, and He told me: "Those demons you see are demons of adultery. They will attack thousands of My servants and many will fall into that sin. Do you know why the devil suc-ceeds in causing my servants to fall? It is because my servants do not give Me all the glory. They steal my glory and become proud. On top of that, their wives live in great spiritual disorder. They did not build their homes with wisdom" (1 Timothy 2:11-14). I saw thousands of angels that I could not count. Many of them were ready for battle. Then Jesus told me: "Now I'm sending these thousands of angels to the earth to protect my people. In these last days, I will double the protection. Satan also will double his attacks, but you should not forget that your God is great and mighty. If you are stay close to Him nothing will happen to you". The Lord then brought me to another place. There, I saw a huge table with golden chairs. On each chair, a name was written, and a robe of fine linen was also placed in front of each chair. On the table I saw crowns. Then I noticed that there was a chair that was bigger than the others. In front of that chair was a huge cup in gold. Jesus told me to go and see what is in the cup. It was full of wine, ready to be served. Jesus told me: "Do you know why the wine is ready to be served? Go and tell my people that I am at the door. I'm coming soon!" The Lord gave me a robe of fine linen and a crown. I wore the robe and the crown. Then the Lord brought me to another place where I saw things as in a mirror. He told me: "There's neither stain nor crease on your robe. None will enter through this door nor be seated at this table unless he is clothed like this. Some among My people on earth have dirtied their robes. Others have crumpled robes, and still others have put theirs aside, and have forgotten them. Tell My people that it's time they washed their robes, ironed them, and readied themselves. Christians should ask the Holy Spirit to help them keep their robes in good order, because the King will soon celebrate the Marriage Supper in His Father's Kingdom". Jesus told me again: "Bernada, work, for I am your strength. This message has to be published in the whole world. It's a message for Christians, pastors, and for all the inhabitants of the earth, including you. Let him who is holy continue to be holy!" http://spiritlessons.com/Documents/Bernada_Fernandez/Bernarda_Fernandez_Prepare_for_the_Lords_Return.htm Dear reader You may have questions or reservations about the extracts published on pages 9 - 11. However, one thing is certain: everyone of us should ascertain if we are in right standing with God. We should ask ourselves the following questions: 1. Am I truly born again? Have I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour? (John 1:12; 3:16; 6:47). Am I cleansed by His Blood and made worthy to appear before the Father? (1 Col. 1:14,20; 1 Peter 1:18-19). 2. Am I pursuing a life of obedience and holiness? (John 14:15; Rom. 6:16, 19; 12:1; 2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 4:24; 1 Thess. 4:7; 1 Peter 2:1, 3:14; Rev. 22:11). 3. Am I (as bride) eagerly awaiting and expecting my Bridegroom? (Matt. 25:1-13; 2 Peter 3:12; Heb. 9:28; Titus 2:13; Jude 1:21). You can either accept or reject Jesus, but you can never ignore Him!