BruceSpeaks

posted by Bruce Porter on כ"ז חשון תשע"א כ"ג טבת תש"ל

How Prepared Are We?

By: Bruce R. Porter

Last night I stumbled upon a late-night interview on the Coast to Coast AM Radio Program. Art Bell was interviewing Dr. William Forstchen, author of the new book, One Second After. Dr. Forthchen’s book deals with the almost unknown, yet incredibly important subject of Electro-Magnetic Pulse, or EMP.

I have followed this subject for several years now, and I must say that it is incredible to me that more isn’t known about this threat to the very survival of our nation. Most people look at me like I just stepped out of an alien spacecraft when I bring the subject up, and even more alarming, our government is virtually oblivious to the danger. Yes, I am being alarmist because I love people.

Do I have your attention yet?

You owe it to yourself and your family to listen to the following interview. It may save your life. I have edited all the commercials out of the audio so you can get right into the ‘meat’ of it. As a believer, I think that God wants His people to be aware of the times, and of a ready and fearless mind to allow Him to use them in times of crisis. He also wants us active in our world, warning, encouraging, and being of service wherever He has placed us.

Just click on the audio link below. (Give it a few seconds to buffer before the audio starts) Those wishing to research this subject further may visit Dr. Forstchen’s website, http://www.onesecondafter.com

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

When you finish the audio interview, you might wish to hear this special message from former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. He is one of a few leaders who understands the threat of a nuclear Iran or N. Korea.

A Final Word:

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
(2 Timothy 1:7 KJV) 

 

posted by Bruce Porter on כ"ו תשרי תשע"א כ"ג טבת תש"ל

When He opened the third seal,
I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.”
So I looked, and behold, a black horse,
and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying,
“A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius;
and do not harm the oil and the wine.”
(Revelation 6:5-6 NKJV)

For God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
(2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV) 

 By Bruce Porter

I’m turning 59 this month. Honestly, I don’t feel old, but people my age always seemed so ancient to me when I was in my 20s and 30s. I can only say that with the passage of years, God has continually shown His grace and mercy in my life, and I can confidently say that only by His grace I remain on this earth. During my sojourn, I’ve learned a few things, perhaps only a few really useful things, and I’d like to share one of them with you.

The most important thing I’ve learned is that nothing in this world is truly reliable. Nothing in this world can give you true security, peace, or lasting comfort. I’ve learned that we must lift our eyes much higher than this world for that sort of thing.

Since I was in my early twenties I was called by the grace of God into faith in His Messiah Jesus, or Yeshua as He was known by His early followers. I did not come willingly. I resisted His call for a time, and fancied myself more than capable of running my own life and taking care of myself, thank you very much. In short, I liked very much being my own god in my own universe. I despised Christians who tried to “witness” to me about Jesus, or tell me I was a “sinner.” After all, as god of my own universe, I absolved myself of all wrongdoing, and besides, as a highly developed primate what did I care about imaginary ‘heavens’ or ‘hells’ since I was the final judge of all reality and ‘truth.” (NOT) Although my atheist friends like to tag me as ‘religious,’ I do not consider myself so. I’ve just faced TRUTH, and His name is Yeshua.

Truth… Now that has a way of being a terribly annoying thing when you’re busy making up reality according to your own opinion, isn’t it? Truth also has a tendency to knock the SNOT out of you when you can’t avoid it, and run into its brick facade! In the end, I lost the battle, and God, (the real one) was the victor. It really wasn’t much of a ‘battle’ since the outcome was already pre-determined, but I’ll leave that for another blog. 

I’ve learned that beyond the door of  TRUTH (and surrender to it) there is yet another door… TRUST. Specifically, I am speaking of TRUST IN GOD to lead, guide, order, and determine not only the events of our lives, but also the days of our lives, and the end of our lives in this world. You see, I’m completely convinced that all there is is not all that is seen. Stated less mystically, our time and sojourning in this present world are only a small part of a much larger span of life and existence that we have scarcely begun to fathom. Jesus promised us eternal life, and yet, how many of us cling to this present world as if it were the only existence we will ever know.

All this to say, brace for impact pilgrims. The world around you is about to come apart. Your life, your security, your possessions, your comforts, and your plans are about to radically change. I used to be able to ignore this to some degree, but the evidence all around me, and the witness of the Spirit inform me that we must actively, sincerely, and deliberately put ourselves into the mighty hands of God with TRUST. Certainly what is coming in terms of painful difficulty is not the end of the story! The birth pangs of an expectant mother (I’m told)  feel sometimes like the end of the world, but they are only part of a process of life. A new life is coming forth, and God has a plan for each of us.

The following video may be frightening to those whose hope is set on this world. I cannot apologize for sharing it with you, because I believe it is the truth. Some will try to discount it as so much fear-mongering by a worldly man who just wants to sell newsletters. However, before you blow him off, or give into the temptation to marginalize me or anyone else who cares enough about you to share this, I beg you to consider the follow scripture:

And the lord commended the unjust steward,
because he had done wisely:
for the children of this world are in their generation
wiser than the children of light.
(Luke 16:8 KJV)

 What can you do with this information? First, have a long and sincere conversation with God. He led Joseph in wisdom just as He gave wisdom to the early believers on numerous occasions after the fall of Jerusalem. He will also lead you and I. I cannot tell you what to do, and wouldn’t want the responsibility of giving too much advice. You need to hear from God. The most important thing is don’t walk another step in denial! Get your instructions, and ACT, not in fear, but in FAITH. It’s pretty simple really. In all cases, however, STAND AGAINST A SPIRIT OF FEAR that is coming upon the whole world. Act in diligence, wisdom, and faith, but never in fear.

posted by Bruce Porter on כ' ניסן תש"ע כ"ג טבת תש"ל

For what is he they follow?
Truly, gentlemen, A bloody tyrant and a homicide;
One raised in blood and one in blood established;
One that made means to come by what he hath,
And slaughtered those that were the means to help him;
A base foul stone, made precious
by the foil Of England’s chair, where he is falsely set;
One that hath ever been God’s enemy.

William Shakespeare

The Tragedy of King Richard the Third (Richmond at V, iii)

I had a disturbing dream a few nights ago, and I’m compelled to share it.  

In the dream, I was riding in a very large bus filled with hundreds of people. Each seat had a steering wheel attached to the seatback in front of the passengers. They reminded me of the toy ones I played with as a child in my parent’s car. I observed that everyone in the bus was turning their plastic wheels back and forth, either left or right. From the serious expressions on their faces, they seemed fully convinced that they were each personally driving the bus, even though I could easily see that the wheels they grasped were attached to… nothing.

 

I then became aware that there were television monitors hanging from the ceiling, and various programs were playing. Some were tuned to soap-operas, or to entertainment shows like American Idol. Others were tuned to sports and news programs, home shopping or food channels. I had the impression that everything on the TV screens was utterly shallow, vain, and completely inconsequential. Everyone was staring numbly at the TVs, and carefully moving their steering wheels as if they were actually driving somewhere.

 

Glancing out the windows, I became aware that the windows were covered over on the outside with a metal mesh, like a chain-link fence, and the scenery passing by was rather dark and gloomy. It was difficult to see anything familiar, and the bus was moving very quickly through streets without traffic, turning neither left nor right, but straight on.

 

Suddenly, the dream changed and all the TV screens switch to a news bulletin. Words like; “It’s time to decide now!” the announcer said. “You must do your patriotic duty and make your voice heard. It’s time to vote!” Various faces appeared in rapid sequence on-screen, some giving speeches, others arguing and shouting at each other, and there were debates. Political arguments were being discussed, and the announcers repeated over and over again that; “It’s time for the people to decide which direction we will go!”

 

Some of the people on the bus began to argue and shout at each other, and some fights broke out. “We must turn left!” some shouted. “It’s time for change!” Others yelled, “No! We must all turn right!” I had the impression they were trying to decide the direction and destination of the bus, since we would all share equally in whatever fate awaited us at our final destination.

 

Some of the arguments got so heated that people began to beat each other, and I looked to the front of the bus for the driver to try to mediate and calm down the melee. It was then that I noticed that the passengers were separated from the driver and the front of the bus by a fence-like metal mesh, and the driver was completely ignoring what was happening back in the bus and did nothing to stop the fighting and bickering. I also noticed that sitting next to the driver was a man dressed in black—like a soldier or SWAT officer—wearing body armor and a battle helmet. He had a big gun, and was also ignoring what was happening behind him.

 

It suddenly occurred to me that we were all riding some sort of prison transport bus! We were all trapped inside by metal mesh on the windows and in the front. However, no one else seemed to notice or pay any attention to this, so busy were they arguing with each other, or being distracted by the TV monitors.

 

After a while, the fighting calmed down as the announcer on the TV said; “Now you must decide! Turn left or right and the majority will determine the direction of the bus and where we will all go! Vote NOW!”

 

In the dream, everyone quickly took their seats and turned their little plastic steering wheels either hard right, or hard left, which I assumed was the way they were voting. As I recall the dream now, there were also quite a few passengers who looked completely apathetic, and rather than voting, they just stared blankly up at the monitors or out the window. 

 

It seemed to me that the passengers were just about equally divided in their “steering” votes. After a moment, the announcer on the TV monitor said; “The lefts WIN! It’s time for a new direction! We now return you to our previous broadcast.” The monitors returned to the previous mind-numbing claptrap about unimportant scandals, or who got traded to whatever team, and sex enhancement drug commercials.

 

The majority of the people cheered, slapping each other on the back, while others mocked and jeered those who had turned their wheels right. For a little while, people were very excited. Until, that is, a few of them noticed that the bus hadn’t changed direction in the slightest. It was plunging headlong into the gathering gloom outside, as the driver steered straight-on as before, even picking up some speed. This began to upset some of the “left” voters, who continued to turn their plastic wheels further and further to the left without the slightest effect on the direction of the bus.

 

One of the passengers, clearly outraged, got up and stormed to the front of the bus. He shook the barrier separating him from the driver and the soldier. Screaming at the driver, he said; “Hey you! We won the election! We turned our wheels left, but you’re still steering straight ahead! What’s the matter with you? Why won’t you listen to us? And why is this barrier between us?” The driver seemed a bit annoyed at this, and turned around slightly with a wry grin on his face. “Don’t worry. Just take your seat. We have everything well in hand. We’ll get you where you need to be soon enough.”

 

Realizing he wasn’t being listened to, the irate passenger turned around and started shouting. “Everyone! Listen to me! This is a prison-bus! We’re all captives! Your steering-wheels aren’t connected to anything! We’ve been duped!”

 

At this, some of the people began to murmur, and a few began moving forward to confront the driver, and it looked like it would only take a few of them to push down the barrier and take control of the bus. The angry passenger began organizing the people and giving orders on how they were going to break into the driver’s cage.

 

The SWAT man suddenly stood up and turned around. Leveling his weapon, he fired a single shot at the back of the angry passenger’s head and splattered his brain all over the roof of the bus. The passenger was dead before his body hit the floor.

 

Everyone fell silent and stood still in utter shock, staring at the crumpled body of their leader. “Go back to your seats NOW, and BE QUIET!” The SWAT man growled. Without another word, the riders shuffled back to their seats, sat down, and began moving their little plastic wheels silently. The TVs resumed their normal monotonous programming, and they just stared up at them trying to ignore the splattered blood and brain-matter on the ceiling of the bus.

 

Glancing outside, I saw in the gloom that we were approaching what looked like a wall with barbed-wire spiraling on top. A gate came into view with a large sign over it. It read; “Arbeit Macht Frei.” (Work Makes Free) The driver, finally looking back at the body of the dead passenger and the catatonic stares of his passengers, began to smile. His face contorted into a demonic mask, and he began to laugh eerily.  

 

Welcome to the twilight zone America.

 

Interpretation? Here’s what I get so far…

 

I think the bus is our nation and the passengers are the citizens. The driver represents the political leadership, and most of them are being manipulated by the forces of darkness. The man-centered systems of politics has been corrupted to the point that there is very little any one of us can do to influence the course of the “bus” we are all collectively riding. We are being distracted by brain-numbing mass-media and popular entertainment in order to prevent us from noticing what is really going on around us.

 

The passenger steering wheels, once a powerful influential force on the politics of our nation, have become largely impotent. Our leaders (the bus driver) increasingly ignore our concerns and steer us toward enslavement. No matter how we individually turn the wheel, the bus is little affected.

 

The heavily-armed SWAT man in the cab with the driver represents the brute force of the government to force submission to the State. Whereas formerly they functioned as our agents of public safety and preservation of our liberties under our Constitution and Bill of Rights, they are increasingly morphing into organs of the government. It strikes me also that the passengers were entirely disarmed and unable to fight back. Whereas once we were a “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” we are rapidly becoming a socialist society where government is no longer accountable to the people, but rules over them as bureaucrats deem expedient.

 

The answer?

 

Not sure about this one, but I suspect that fear is the primary way that despotic tyrants hold their subjects into submission and bondage. In the dream, it was clear that even a small percentage of the people on the bus could have broken down the barrier to get at the “real” steering-wheel, but they were intimidated to attempt it because of the single guard and the blood of a single victim, and no means of defending themselves.

 

The other issue is that we have become far too trusting of manmade systems and allowed ourselves to be drawn into a stupor of entertainment and media distractions. We are too preoccupied with unimportant trivialities to notice the tightening chains of slavery around our necks! Only if we awaken to our peril in time and stand up in sufficient numbers can we hope to stop the meltdown of our republic!

 

Also, I believe we must turn our hearts back to our Creator and humble ourselves. We have relied far too much upon our human intellect and technology, become prideful and arrogant, and forgotten how utterly dependent we are on His Providence. Far too many Christian leaders have fallen into the trap of accommodating the prevailing ethos of our times, instead of confronting the steady drift toward moral corruption and social indifference. They teach sermons that comfort the compromised, reassure the rebellious, and preach prosperity to the already pampered. We have increasingly drifted away from our sense of duty and honor, and embraced a spiritualized narcissism that enables us to accept an inflated sense of self-importance.

 

Perhaps the most serious issue is that many of us feel condemned and unworthy to resist darkness at all, having failed to embrace the central point of Christ’s sacrifice—our total redemption and complete justification by the blood of Jesus—and therefore refuse to stand up and confront the lies around us. We fear being called hypocrites. (Just another form of self-pride)

 

I end with the words of the great American patriot and Christian, Patrick Henry:

 

…Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?…

…Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

 

 

posted by Bruce Porter on י"ח אדר תש"ע כ"ג טבת תש"ל

Last time I saw it all coming and cried aloud
to my own fellow-countrymen and to the world,
but no one paid any attention.
There never was a war in all history
easier to prevent by timely action
than the one which has just desolated
such great areas of the globe.
It could have been prevented in my belief
…but no one would listen
and one by one we were all sucked
into the awful whirlpool.
We surely must not let that happen again.

-Sir Winston Churchill-
THE SINEWS OF PEACE
March 5, 1946
Address to the graduating class of Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri

Not long ago I passed through Fulton, Missouri, the state of my birth, and made a special pilgrimage to the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library at Westminster College. There, next to the reconstructed Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, stands a bronze statue of the “Bulldog of England,” Sir Winston Churchill, in commemoration of his historic visit and speech there. The church, dismantled and transported to Missouri from London, was built in the 12th century, was redesigned by Sir Christopher Wren in 1677 after the Great Fire of London. To prevent its demolition, Westminster College purchased and brought it to Fulton. It now serves as the Churchill library.

Students passing by glanced sideways at me as I stared at this old warrior, pondering the loneliness he must have endured. I wondered how many of them were aware of who this man actually was, and how profoundly their lives were still being affected by his faithfulness to stand up to evil, even under the scathing glare of appeasing critics in his time. No-doubt his soul must have borne many scars of rejection and ridicule before his true greatness was recognized.

Even as a young man, before WWI, Churchill harbored dark forebodings about the rise of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s dictatorship in Germany.

I thought of the peril of Britain,
peace-loving, unthinking, little prepared,
of her power and virtue,
and of her mission of good sense and fair play.
I thought of mighty Germany towering up
in the splendor of her Imperial State
and delving down in her profound, cold,
patient, ruthless calculations.

After World War I, Churchill was marginalized politically as he raised his voice in warning about the dangers of future dictatorships in the Soviet Union, Japan, Germany, and Italy. The liberals of his time called him a warmonger, unable to fathom the danger he so clearly foresaw. How we need voices like his now!

AN IMMINENT ATTACK ON AMERICA?

In a lecture in New York City a few weeks ago, an Israeli speaker, Juval Aviv, warned of another, even more devastating terrorist attack on the U.S.

Aviv was one of the Israeli agents sent out by Israel to avenge the murder of Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists at the Munich Olympic games. He also served as Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir’s personal bodyguard. He is no stranger to the ways of terrorists.

This is the man who was mocked by Bill O’Reilly on Fox News when he predicted that within a week the London subway bombings would occur. A few days later O’Reilly wasn’t laughing so much. He also tried to warn President Bush that terrorists using aircraft as missiles would target prominent buildings and monuments. Within a month the attacks of 9/11 occurred.

Aviv now says that the next terrorist attacks here in America are imminent and will involve suicide bombers and non-suicide bombers anywhere large groups of people congregate. Likely targets would be places like Disneyland, casinos, and theaters in large metropolitan cities. They will likely strike shopping malls, subways in rush hour, train stations, and include small communities. He believes the attack will involve at least 5-8 cities, including rural areas coordinated to occur on the same day for maximum impact.

Aviv doesn’t believe terrorists will use nuclear weapons since suicide bombings are much cheaper and effective. Also, because of the level of Islamo-sycophantic indoctrination in our own schools and universities here in the U.S., there will be no need to bring foreigners in to do the job. There are plenty of “homegrown” Jihadists right here in America who do not fit the profile of Middle-Eastern terrorists and can move freely among us without arousing suspicion.

Are Americans ready to meet this challenge?

Aviv recently conducted a private security test by placing an empty briefcase in five well-traveled spots in five major cities. Guess what happened? Not one person called 911 or sought a policeman to check it out. In fact, in Chicago, someone tried to steal the briefcase! (Now, why doesn’t that surprise us?)

Israel is ready

I have been to Israel over twenty times and was present in two of Israel’s wars. I can attest that individual Israelis are well-aware of terrorist threats. The citizenry have developed a “personal radar” that instantly alerts them when things don’t “look right.” This is honed by the bitter experience of suicide bombers detonating themselves on public buses, in shopping malls and nightclubs. When you get on a bus, or walk into a restaurant, every person in the room gives you the “once over” with their eyes, especially if you’re carrying something. Americans know virtually nothing of this sort of vigilance. I expect we will soon learn however.

As I consider the times we live in, and what is actually happening around us–how the world is moving inextricably toward the chaotic events that God warned would happen in the last days –I’m convinced that we are about to receive a jolting wakeup call.

Some may think me melancholic in saying this, but–

If you listen closely, you can almost hear the hoof-beats of the four horsemen of the apocalypse approaching.

(see Revelation 6:1-9)

The fact that we are already in the midst of World War III is lost on most of us in the West. As a culture we are awash in mind-numbing triviality fed to us through a ratings-driven mass media and an entertainment industry that conditions us to believe that calamity and terrorism cannot happen to us.

More than this, increasingly, we are being offered spiritual-sounding pabulum by many false teachers who seek to convince us that comfort and affluence is promised to every Christian who “believes correctly” and responds financially to each and every offering. Huge multimillion-dollar church-buildings have gone up all over the land, and far too often success is measured by how expensive your car is, or how many square feet you occupy.

Change is in the wind. The Islamofascist war is coming to America. Our world will soon become ‘a different place’, and side-issues like ‘global warming’ and ‘political correctness’ are going to become an irrelevant absurdity.

Just one dirty nuke in one of our cities would bring our debt-bloated economy down. This has never been truer with the present administration’s obsession with spending more money than our grandchildren could possibly ever pay back. Just one suicide-bombing, or a biological attack by terrorists will empty out our beautiful church buildings. What sane person would expose their family to the possibility they might be blown to bits by a terrorist, or catch a deadly bio-engineered infection by coughing, sneezing people inside enclosed places?

Winston Churchill was considered a prophet of doom in his time, but was later vindicated when his dark visions of the future became everyone’s nightmare in Britain during the Nazi blitz. I’m continually amazed at how quickly fearful people will scoff at, and actively marginalize anyone who warns of the dangers in our times. When liberal appeasers were finally discredited by Nazi bombs falling on London, they desperately sought his leadership. By then it was nearly too late.

His views on Islam are particularly noteworthy. He saw in Islam a grave threat to western civilization, and his word are prophetic.

Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities.
Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen:
all know how to die.
But the influence of the religion paralyses
the social development of those who follow it.
No stronger retrograde force exists in the world.
Far from being moribund,
Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytising faith.
It has already spread throughout Central Africa,
raising fearless warriors at every step;
and were it not that Christianity is sheltered
in the strong arms of science
- the science against which it had vainly struggled -
the civilisation of modern Europe might fall,
as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome.

Sir Winston Churchill

I believe God is about to do some things in the earth that will take quite a few of us by surprise. Not all of it will be painful! I’m convinced that those who prepared and are ready to face the times ahead with confidence and courage will shine as bright stars on a dark, moonless night. Our greatest days of usefulness are just before us, but we must not allow ourselves to be paralyzed with fear or lulled asleep by the siren call of this fallen world!

As Yeshua said;

For those will be days of greater horror
than at any time since God created the world.
And it will never happen again.
In fact, unless the Lord shortens that time of calamity,
the entire human race will be destroyed.
But for the sake of his chosen ones he has shortened those days.
And then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’
or, ‘There he is,’ don’t pay any attention.
For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up
and perform miraculous signs and wonders
so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.
Watch out! I have warned you!
At that time, after those horrible days end,
the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give light,
the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.
Then everyone will see the Son of Man
arrive on the clouds with great power and glory.

(Mark 13:19-26 NLT)

Winston Churchill left us a legacy of patient perseverance. He stayed steady and waited for his time in destiny to unfold. He suffered many setbacks, endured vicious attacks, and many dark nights of disappointments. Yet, when the time came for him to step up upon the stage of world history, he was ready.

Are you ready? Are you filled with a sense of destiny and confident that it was no mere accident that placed you in this time and place? We need not fear what may come. God has called each of us for such a time as this, and He didn’t make any mistakes. Take your place. Do your duty. Hold steady in the coming storm, for in the end, more peaceful days will come.

Jerusalem is about to undergo a major remodel upon the return of the King of Kings, and the world will be under infinitely better-qualified management with a Jew on the throne who wears the scars of His battles and the crown of His victory.

I hope to see Winston there among the worshippers, with a proper British grin on his face.

posted by Bruce Porter on י"ח טבת תש"ע כ"ג טבת תש"ל

Signs of the Times

 

By: Dr. Bruce R. Porter

 

This morning I abruptly awoke from a deep sleep. Glancing over at my cell phone clock, the time read 9:11. That startled me, because my mind was instantly drawn back to memories of the Islamofascist terror attack upon our nation on 9-11-01. Those memories are deeply etched upon my psyche, mainly because of my volunteer work at the World Trade Center ruins after the attack.

 

My thoughts were drawn immediately to the possibility that my abrupt awakening at precisely 9:11 was some sort of portent or omen. I have had many of these experiences during my life, mostly ignored, but events in recent years have forced me to pay closer attention.

 

For example, I had a prophetic dream about the school massacre at Columbine High School in 1999. Three months to the day before this tragedy I had a horrendous dream in which I saw the entire event played out in vivid detail. (See my book; The Martyrs’ Torch)

 

Another time, on February 1, 2003, I was in a remote cabin up in the Colorado mountains working on a book manuscript. At precisely 6:59 am Mountain Time, I was startled awake by a loud explosion. (I noted the time as I glanced at the alarm clock) Suspecting a gas explosion, I jumped up and began franticly investigating, but found nothing wrong inside or outside. Completely alone, I had an overwhelming sense of dread and felt compelled to turn on an old television in the cabin. Normally, I never watched it because the remote location yielded only a fuzzy picture. As the TV came alive, I heard a reporter describing the breakup of the Space Shuttle Columbia high over Texas. Watching the video of the debris streaking across the sky, I suddenly had a revelation that there was some sort of connection between the sound I heard, and the shuttle accident. I then heard the reporter mention that all communication with the astronauts ceased at precisely 8:59 am Eastern Time… precisely when I was awakened!

 

A wave of nausea came over me! I “just happened” to be at Cape Canaveral the previous January 16 when Columbia was launched! As I watched the shuttle roar into the heavens, I was proud that Israel’s first Astronaut, Col. Ilan Ramon, was onboard. However, I remembered having a nagging sense of uneasiness, but dismissed it. Was there a connection? Why did this “omen” happen, and why did I hear an explosion at precisely the same time as Columbia was being ripped apart thousands of miles away? I still ponder this mystery. I’ve since learned that many other people had similar experiences.

 

As a believer in God and the Messiah Jesus, I know that when it pleases Him, God has often given warnings and signs before things of import happen. I make no claim to being a prophet, but the Holy Spirit has spoken to me in dreams and signs.

 

Given this, I am pondering the “coincidence” of my being startled awake this morning at precisely 9:11. The implications are clear to me. With the Islamic/Israeli war in the Middle East heating up again, the very real possibility exists that a regional war could erupt at any moment. If Israel is attacked by Iran-backed Hezbollah forces along its border with Lebanon, or Syria decides to take advantage of the situation and attack Israel in the Golan, the Islamists may see this as their opportunity to finally destroy Israel and murder millions of Israelis. The Israelis might then feel compelled to lay aside any further efforts at restraint and loose their formidable military capabilities in a desperate attempt to survive. This would fan smoldering anti-Jewish/anti-Israeli hostility to a raging fire around the world.

 

Because of America’s steadfast support of Israel, America is perceived as pro-Zionist in the eyes of millions of fanatical Islamists. Could we then see an acceleration of terrorist attacks here in the U.S.? Could we see more, and perhaps even more devastating, “9-11” types of attacks against our civilian populations? Most terrorism experts have been warning of this virtual inevitability for years. In our present weakened economic state, and the political uncertainties of a new Leftist administration within the next 15 days, would Islamic radicals seek to frighten our people through terrorism into a new era of appeasement? Would that appeasement go so far as to cut off our support of Israel? God forbid!

 

I have a sense of dread that we are about to endure another devastating terror attack… one that could possibly destroy entire cities. I pray to God I’m wrong. I fervently hope that by this time next year people will happily dismiss me as a crack-pot and none of this would have happened. But I can’t shake this sense of alarm.

 

In the meantime, I urge you to prepare. How?

 

• First of all, prepare spiritually. Do you have a confident relationship with the Messiah Jesus? Have you entrusted your eternal life and destiny into His hands? I’m not talking “religion” here. That won’t help you. I’m talking of a vital, real, and scriptural relationship with Him who made you and has an eternal destiny for you. With that reality in your life, fear will not overcome you.

 

• Second, prepare yourself emotionally. Is your security in material possessions? Could you keep your senses if life threw you a curve-ball and familiar comforts and supports were not available? If you are prepared, you will not panic and freeze up in the headlights of oncoming adversity. You might even be an instrument of encouragement, comfort, and provision to those around you!

 

• Third, have you set aside emergency supplies for yourself and your family, and your neighbors? This is wise even if we don’t consider acts of terrorism. There are lots of reasons prudent preparations for emergencies are a good thing. Remember the wisdom of Joseph in Egypt!

 

I sincerely hope my startled 9:11 experience this morning was just a weird coincidence, borne out of working too late last night. It didn’t feel like it, but I sure hope so.