July 29, 2018 – End Times Prophecy Report

End Times: When the Perverse Becomes Normal

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
–2Timothy 3:1-5

One topic of conversation growing more popular these days seems to be “How bad things are getting!”

IF one could only arrive at what people mean when they say “bad,” (this also applies to the meaning of “things“) one might have a fairly good idea of what it is that has so many end times people concerned.

When people use the words “bad” and “things,” they appear to be referring to three separate parts of their life; i.e., three arenas/spheres of their life.

By far, the three “things” most seem to be referencing are:

Financial/economic matters – Tied with the second group for number of people worried.
Cultural or spiritual matters – Tied with the first group for number of people worried.
Various and sundry matters – By far the smallest of the three groups. The matters concerning these folks range from poor upkeep of the roads to the poor nutritional value of school lunches to the number of helicopters overflying their area. All these matters elicited “Boy, things sure are getting bad!” (or some equivalent expression).

Let’s look at group number two: those who are concerned with various cultural/spiritual matters.

As befits a nation fixated on the material, groups one and three appear to be voicing natural responses to the planned obsolescence of country once known as the United States of America.

Group two however: what do they mean when they say “bad” and “things“?

Many in group two (at least from hearing their full discussion) seem to be mean “perverse” when they say “bad.”

“Behaviors” or “actions” = “things.”

One person may be referring to the sewage which passes for popular entertainment; another, to the common, public use of vulgar terms or “cussing;” still another, to the “terrible” behaviors exhibited by the youth–“and in public no less!”

“Sex, drugs and rock n’roll” is no longer a rallying cry for hippies from the 1960s.

NOW, it often appears to be the mission statement of Big Government, Big Business and Big Entertainment.

It appeared that those who complained of “things” becoming “bad” could have meant the behavior which one sees; not only on the movie screen and TV, but in public as well.

Not one person attributed the low morals they saw everywhere around them to the times in which we now live.

Not one person attributed the various common perverse behaviors to what the Bible specifially describes as happening in the time before Jesus returns.

“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”
–2Timothy 3:13

Several referred to the Bible, but in a general manner, such as “You know, the Bible says things will get bad/worse.”

Yes, the common discourse–in all of its manifestations–has coarsened and grown worse.

BUT to any who study the Bible, this is to be expected (and looked for!) as that which happens before the return of Jesus Christ.

To those who can remember when “things (life) were different,” it has been a case of the perverse being normalized by the culture and ALL of society’s institutions.

Although not mentioned directly, it is interesting that ALL of the activities (which concern man’s various uses of demonic power) which God’s Word calls “abominations” in Deuteronomy 18:10-12 have become fairly commonplace in the World’s Most Christian Nation–EVER™!

“There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD”
–Deuteronomy 18:10-12

Idol worship, astrology, enchanters, witchcraft, animal charming, diviners, wizards/sorcerers and talking to the dead: the Bible refers to those who engage in such activities as “abominations.”

Moderns might call them something completely different: anything from the latest church activity to the subject of a popular book/movie to an idea for a compelling reality TV show to “a little fun.”

The perverse becomes so normal in the end times, men do not believe they are doing anything wrong when they engage in such behaviors.

Throughout the Book of Revelation, the various end times judgments of God Almighty right before the return of Jesus are described. IN the midst of these judgments, God pauses to allow man to repent (change direction/change his mind) and be saved.

Man refuses to repent of behaviors which, only a few hundred years ago, were commonly referred to as “unthinkable” or “heathen.”

“And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”
–Revelation 9:20-21

Idols, devil worship, murder, sorcery/witchcraft, fornication, theft: all are behaviors end times man REFUSES to repent of.

“Abominations? That’s just your opinion!”

All are behaviors more or less acceptable in public in a nation which has been told, retold and then told some more that it is the World’s Most Christian Nation–EVER™!

Now THAT is the direct result of the normalization of perversity.

IS the reader of the mind that the coarsening of public morals is nothing to get worried about?

HAS the reader adopted the attitude that “every generation believes public morals are getting worse“?

WHAT, exactly, would it take for the reader to admit that perversity is now the new normal in the USA?

ANYTHING?

It is not YET too late: there is still time to change direction (repent), place your faith for the future entirely on Jesus Christ and enter the kingdom of heaven.

DOES the reader believe he is saved?

Make Your Calling and Election Sure: End Times Survival

DOES the reader believe he is NOT saved?

Time is Running Out: Today is the Day of Salvation

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. ”
–1 Corinthians 15:1-8

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
-–Romans 1:16

The Nature of Spiritual Deception

[Portions of this piece appeared originally in End Times Prophecy Headlines: July 23, 2018.]

RELATED ARTICLES

by Jeremiah Jameson
–with Mondo Frazier

image: ETPR

© Jeremiah J. Jameson and End Times Prophecy Report, 2012-18. © Mondo Frazier and End Times Prophecy Report, DBKP 2007-2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jeremiah J. Jameson and End Times Prophecy Report with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Link Disclaimer: inclusion of links to other blogs/websites is not necessarily an endorsement of all content posted in those blogs/website.

America: Ground Zero for Deception

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.”
–Matthew 24:3-4

Americans have traditionally lived in a land which offered them the material things of the world.

But that material prosperity has not come without a cost.

Some readers may be thinking to themselves, “Yeah, the cost has been hard work–and plenty of it!”

And that thought is usually true enough.

But many in the rest of the world work long and hard–perhaps even longer and harder–and yet have not reaped the immense returns of the average American who has lived after World War II.

There has been a high cost to pay for living in a land where the things of the world are plentiful. Much of that cost has been deception.

Americans live at Ground Zero for worldwide deception.

The deceptions in the USA are legion, but three spheres in particular will comprise today’s topic.

ADVERTISING

“Advertising is legalized lying.”
—H.G. Wells

Americans are not only surrounded by advertising, they are immersed in it almost 24/7.

Advertising is all about glorifying the things of the world and making the target feel like he cannot live without the product/service being advertised.

Advertising is a study in the art of lying.

The claims of many products are deceptive IF one knows all of the facts about of that product. Advertising is where terms which SOUND good but do not mean anything are invented in order to deceive.

Such as “natural.” (There are many, many other examples.)

And then, those terms are heavily repeated–as is required of ALL propaganda (and advertising is a form of propaganda)–in order to be effective.

ABCs of Propaganda: Recognizing Propaganda

On the radio and TV, in newspapers, at the multiplex, on smartphones, on billboards and electronic signs, even broadcast from public transportation: it is hard for an American to go very far before encountering some type of advertisement.

HOLLYWOOD

“Hollywood is a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul. I know, because I turned down the first offer often enough and held out for the fifty cents.”
—Marilyn Monroe

Hollywood is a place of fiction; known for its glamour.

“Glamour” originally referred to a magic spell, an illusion said to be cast by witches.

Hollywood is a place which traffics in making the false appear to be real.

And Hollywood exports its vehicles of falseness (films and TV shows) throughout the entire world.

Hollywood is a place of mass deception–and the world knows it.

Hollywood reaps its payoff for deceit when the world pays Hollywood for providing “fantasy” (lying in an entertaining manner).

MOVIES/COMPUTERS/MEDIA/TV/SMARTPHONES/VIDEO GAMES & VIRTUAL REALITY

“To successfully create illusion, the first thing you need is trust, but to perfect an illusion, the false reality most appear as authentic as the one it hides. Careful attention must be paid to every detail. The slightest of imperfections can, like a pin to a balloon, burst the illusion . . . and the truth behind the illusion becomes revealed.”
― Emily Thorne

MORE: FALSE REALITY AND ILLUSION QUOTES: 20 Quotes about Manufactured Reality

The creation of false worlds–and the many who find relief from reality by fleeing to those false man-created worlds–is the stock in trade of computers/smartphones/video games and the up-and-coming arena of virtual (false) reality.

Americans may not have invented false reality; that concept is centuries old.

BUT Americans have perfected adapting the latest technology in order to deceive more effectively.

Yes, there are plenty of people who use their computers for work and their smartphones to look up information.

But it is the rare person who does not use these devices to “escape” into some sort of game or diversion.

And the stereotype of the person so obsessed with their smartphone as to ignore everything else around them is an all-too-familiar one.

This also applies to the “nerd” who is obsessed with the make-believe worlds of video gaming (and comics and fictional literature).

The very latest deceptions are those said to technologically-driven.

And this applies to everything which contributes to living–if only for a short time–regularly in a false reality.

ETPR ARCHIVES: False and Manufactured Reality

The second part of the Emily Thorne quote (“Careful attention must be paid to every detail. The slightest of imperfections can, like a pin to a balloon, burst the illusion . . . and the truth behind the illusion becomes revealed.”) fails to point out a few drawbacks to living in a land that is Ground Zero for deception.

1- To one who has been raised his entire life surrounded by deception, it becomes difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is manufactured to fool him;

2- The one who is surrounded by deception has trouble searching for the truth when everything he knows is a deception;

3- Even if one wishes to break out of the deceptions, he most likely will return to the lie he knows–which is usually the lie he has been taught from early childhood. When offered the choice between lies and the truth of God’s Word, many will recoil because of lies they have been taught in their early life; and,

4- At the end of the day, many may not even care if they are being lied to or not. As long as they are COMFORTABLE and entertained, truth is something that is unimportant. As long as they are comfortable and entertained, many make an easy peace with lies.

Yes, America is Ground Zero for deception.

Only THREE sources of deception have been addressed (however briefly) here.

There are many, many, many other circumstances in the American’s everyday life where he is deceived–which may constitute a future article, including the may lies told by those who run the churches and the more infamous “TV preachers.”

Yes, certainly America is Ground Zero for deception.

However, in exchange for living surrounded by all of these lies, the American does have a smartphone and a TV (or two).

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you”
–Mark 13:3-5

MORE: The Nature of Spiritual Deception

DOES the reader KNOW the politicians, media, advertising and other “authorities” bend the truth?

DOES the reader believe the government will protect him from such end times deceit?

It is not YET too late: there is still time to change direction (repent), place your faith for the future entirely on Jesus Christ and enter the kingdom of heaven.

DOES the reader believe he is saved?

Make Your Calling and Election Sure: End Times Survival

DOES the reader believe he is NOT saved?

Time is Running Out: Today is the Day of Salvation

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
-–Romans 1:16

[Portions of this piece appeared originally in End Times Prophecy Headlines: July 25, 2018.]

RELATED ARTICLES

by Jeremiah Jameson
–with Mondo Frazier

images:
1- Wikimedia Commons/pd
2- Wikimedia Commons/pd
3- Wikimedia Commons/pd
4- ETPR/Stuart Miles, FreeDigitalPhotos.net/ETPR

Link Disclaimer: inclusion of links to other blogs/websites is not necessarily an endorsement of all content posted in those blogs/website.

Providing Proof to the Faithless

“To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God”
–Acts 1:3

From time to time, the question has been posed, “What proof do you have that what you believe is true?”

It is a question which initially provoked thought–and then some additional thought and some study.

There are a great many answers.

Some of those answers involve providing “proof” to the faithless.

Some of those answers involve what the Bible calls “infallible proofs.”

As to the first (providing “proof” to the faithless):

The faithless are always asking for proof or evidence of God. But no amount of evidence or proof will satisfy the faithless.

This was evident in the times when Jesus walked the earth: the faithless were constantly asking for Him to give them a “sign.”

“They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?”
–John 6:30

“And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.”
–Luke 11:16

“And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.”
–Mark 8:11

“And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.”
–Luke 23:8

“Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?”
–John 2:18

“Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
–Matthew 12:38-40

This quest for a sign will also be evident before Jesus returns.

BUT it will be Satan and his workers–not God–who provides miracles, signs and lying wonders to the faithless in the end times.

“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
–Matthew 24:24

“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast”
–Revelation 13:11,13-14

“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders”
–2Thessalonians 2:8-9

“And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
–Revelation 16:16

And all of this ultimately leads to the answer to the original question.

“The proof that I have that what I believe is true are ‘many infallible proofs.’”

Invariably, the curious THEN want to know exactly what are these many infallible proofs.

Sadly, providing such proofs to the idle curious/nonbeliever does no good: oh, that it might!

Deception is a spiritual condition.

Spiritual deception cannot be satisfied by logic, pictures, communications, willpower, documents, intelligence or any other common thing man often refers to as “proof.”

MORE: The Nature of Spiritual Deception

There is no more proof needed of this than the account of what happens to man on earth in the final days before Jesus Christ returns.

Man is bombarded with increasingly severe judgments from God. His physical situation will have so deteriorated as to match his spiritual condition.

YET God’s Word tells us that man will REFUSE to repent–even as judgment is being rained down upon his head.

God even stays his hand and holds up his judgment in order to give man a little more time to repent (change his mind/direction).

“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.”
–Revelation 8:1

BUT man refuses to repent of his wickedness–this is how spiritually deceived man is.

So, the answer THEN becomes a question: “How much proof would satisfy the faithless?”

BEFORE one becomes a believer, no proofs are given: otherwise, faith could not be called faith.

“For we are saved by hope [faith]: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?”
–Romans 8:24

AFTER one becomes a believer, many, many, MANY infallible proofs are provided–though at that point, none are needed or even desired.

Isn’t that something?

DOES the reader wonder why God does not “do miracles” like in the days described by the Bible?

HAS reader heard the church folk claim that “miracles strengthen their faith“?

HAS the reader put his faith in a church claiming miracles or signs from God?

HAS the reader longed to see such a “miracle” or “sign from God”?

It is not YET too late: there is still time to change direction (repent), place your faith for the future entirely on Jesus Christ and enter the kingdom of heaven.

DOES the reader believe he is saved?

Make Your Calling and Election Sure: End Times Survival

DOES the reader believe he is NOT saved?

Time is Running Out: Today is the Day of Salvation

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
-–Romans 1:16

[Portions of this piece appeared originally in End Times Prophecy Headlines: July 27-29, 2018.]

RELATED ARTICLES

by Jeremiah Jameson
–with Mondo Frazier

image: Wikimedia Commons/pd

Link Disclaimer: inclusion of links to other blogs/websites is not necessarily an endorsement of all content posted in those blogs/website.

POLLS: Another Tool of Deception

The end times are a time of great deception.

The end times are a time of great lying.

There are many tools used by those who practice deception. One of the most prominent is the media poll.

Supposedly, media polls promote the idea that the Corporate Media (Satan’s Mouthpiece) has its finger on the pulse of the public.

In reality, polls are just one more tool of deception. They are used (as are many statistics) to buttress an argument being presented in the media OR to claim that the public is “moving” toward or away from an established way of doing things.

Polls supposedly give the public a look at “public opinion.” But there is NO public opinion.

“There is no public opinion. There is only published opinion.”
–Winston Churchill

Perhaps nothing is promoted more heavily than the media poll. Unless it is the idea that the information presented by a “scientific” poll is true. However, it is hard to dispute the popularity of media polls.

Though many Americans will argue that polls are easily manipulated, few appear ready to admit they are complete fictions, manufactured to support whatever narrative to which they are attached.

Many claim to disbelieve what the “Mainstream media” tells them–but appear to believe the polls of that same “Mainstream media.”

Few believe God’s Word, so few know the times in which we now live.

A time of GREAT deception.

…Of which polls play their part.

DOES the reader believe what he reads in his newspaper or sees on his TV?

DOES the reader have more trust in such things of man over the Word of God?

It is not YET too late: there is still time to change direction (repent), place your faith for the future entirely on Jesus Christ and enter the kingdom of heaven.

DOES the reader believe he is saved?

Make Your Calling and Election Sure: End Times Survival

DOES the reader believe he is NOT saved?

Time is Running Out: Today is the Day of Salvation

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
-–Romans 1:16

[Portions of this piece appeared originally in End Times Prophecy Headlines: July 25, 2018.]