RR – 3/5/23 Biblical Perspective of Current News (for February 2023) by Dr. Raymond Finney

Mar 2, 2023 | Rabbis Reflections

Rabbi’s Reflections – Sunday, March 5, 2023
Shavuah Tov,

Biblical Perspective of Current News (for February 2023)
by Dr. Raymond Finney

INTRODUCTION: You have seen or heard the commercial advertisements. A rock-and-roll star is coming to town for a concert, and scarce tickets may now be purchased. (It amazes me that people like and will pay good money to see a rock-and-roll concert, but much of the happenings in the world amaze me.) There is Good News, though. The Rock of our salvation, the Rock upon which our faith is built is soon coming back to Earth. Anyone who wishes to be with Him for eternity has a “ticket” awaiting him/ her. There is no charge for the admission “ticket.” The Rock paid the admission price nearly two-thousand years ago on a cross beside a dusty road in Jerusalem.

The Rock, of course, is Yeshua HaMashiach. Dozens of Scripture verses assure us that anyone and everyone may come freely to the Rock and freely receive his/ her “ticket” to eternal life in Heaven. (For applicable verses, see: What Does the Bible Say About Who So Ever Will Let Him Come? (openbible.info) .)

This Rock is appearing soon: For example:

● The Aliyah of dispersed Jews from around the world, the reestablishment of Israel, and the joining of Israel and Judah have been completed. That is, the Fig Tree of Israel has set its buds and the harvest time of summer draws near.

● The First Advent (Coming) of the Messiah has occurred.

● The death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah have occurred.

● The world is in a hopeless mess, and evil men have set into motion a climate of wars that would annihilate humankind, unless the Lord stays our foolishness.

● All end-time prophecies of the Bible have been fulfilled sufficiently so that Yeshua can return at any time, without leaving any prophecy unfulfilled. We only await Father God’s instruction to Yeshua that it is time for Him to go to Earth and bring His bride home.

● One world globalism and all features of the Tribulation are now in place, ready to be set into motion (after the Battle of Gog and Magog?).

● I believe two extremely evil, clever, and charismatic men are aliva now and are ready to be seated as what the Bible calls the Antichrist and the False Prophet.

● The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are surely mounted and ready to ride.

● The Temple Institute and others are completing steps necessary to build, furnish, and staff the Third Temple of God.

● And so forth. To list all of the steps necessary for Yeshua’s return in the clouds and activities that would occur on Earth and in Paradise would take many, many RRs. Suffice it to say that God is about ready to call Believers home. Are you ready to be called home?

►TITLE (DATE): Washington state moves to create Domestic Violent Extremism Commission to tackle ‘anti-LGBTQ and anti-science misinformation’ (February 27, 2023)

● SIGNIFICANCE: George Orwell, in his classic novel 1984, wrote about a “Ministry of Truth” tasked with dealing with the dissemination of lies. Joe Biden has been accused a number of times of trying to create a similar entity, through his now-defunct “Disinformation Governance Board” and more. This Washington State ministry would criminalize certain forms of expression based on what members of a state commission consider to be their definition of “domestic extremism.” Although I am not an attorney, it would seem that this commission is clearly unconstitutional and will readily be struck down by the Supreme Court. However, there is a time coming when the Unholy Trinity rules much of the world. The False Prophet will cause favored citizens to worship the Antichrist and receive the infamous mark of the Beast (Antichrist) on their right hand or forehead (Revelation 13:16-17). Many scholars believe this “mark” could be an implanted electronic device which would allow the Antichrist’s regime to locate any subject at any time. Privacy will no longer exist during the Tribulation, as all subjects will literally be owned by the government. Citizens of the world are now being conditioned to fall into line to be “marked” by a worldwide ruling regime.

►TITLE (DATE): Clinton aide’s death ruled ‘suicide’ despite tied to a tree, shot in chest (February 22, 2023)

● SIGNIFICANCE: This report is not relevant to the last days, but I find it interesting to learn the lengths some suicide victims apparently will go to make death look like a homicide. An ordinary person would consider such a death to be a homicide (apparently erroneously). Law enforcement officials in Perryville, Arkansas must be sharper than most of us. Clinton aide Mark Middleton officially  committed suicide, instead of being murdered.

►TITLE (DATE): ‘The US is now blanketed in fentanyl.’ Researchers detect a NINEFOLD rise across the west of the country, as the drug and its deadly copycats take hold nationwide (February 21, 2023)

● SOURCE (URL): Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11776999/The-blanketed-fentanyl-NINEFOLD-rise-deadly-opioid-use-western-US.html

● SUMMARY: Millennium Health, a company which processes drug tests, has detected a nine-fold rise in fentanyl use in the western USA these past three years– showing the powerful opioid has now cast its deadly shadow across the entire country. The biggest rises in use of this synthetic opioid have been seen along the Pacific coast and mountain regions.

● SIGNIFICANCE: A sign of the end times is widespread “sorceries” and refusal of people to repent of their “sorceries” (Revelation 9:21 and 18:23). “Sorceries” is a loose translation of the Greek φαρμακεία = pharmakeia = “drug use”]. More than 150 Americans die daily from overdose with fentanyl and similar opioids. This toll would be like fully loaded jumbo jets crashing and killing all onboard every other day (180 jumbo jet crashes per year, killing all on board). Jumbo jet crashes every other day would get the attention of government officials and the media, but the same number of opioid overdose deaths are ignored. Mexican drug cartels ship fentanyl (made in China or Mexico) across our open “border” essentially unimpeded. A quick summary of the fentanyl crisis may be learned from a CDC Website, Fentanyl Facts (cdc.gov) . A new class of drugs– nitazenes– is twenty times more deadly than fentanyl. Nitazenes are now present in Knox County ( Drug ‘deadlier than fentanyl’ causing concerns in East Tennessee among authorities | wbir.com ). If you have a loved one addicted to drugs, please seek help. I hope the cost of Narcan, which reverses the effect of fentanyl, will become more affordable and will be stockpiled in many places. Rapid administration of this opioid reversal agent is essential, if a life is saved.

►TITLE (DATE): Putin Suspends U.S. Nuclear Treaty, Tells Russians West ‘Wants to Finish Us Forever’ (February 21, 2023)

● SOURCE (URL): Breitbart https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2023/02/21/putin-suspends-u-s-nuclear-treaty-tells-russians-west-wants-to-finish-us-forever/

● SUMMARY: Russian leader Vladimir Putin announced in a nearly two-hour speech the unilateral suspension of the longstanding New START agreement that limits American and Russian nuclear development, describing Western support for Ukraine amid an ongoing Russian invasion as an existential threat to Russia.

● SIGNIFICANCE: Putin is certainly an evil despot, who appears to be both physically and mentally ill. He has delusions of restoring the former USSR, which would include annexing Ukraine and neighboring nations. Because he has unfettered control of numerous nuclear bombs and delivery systems, he cannot be dismissed as a madman. The West, including the United States, is faced with several nuclear enemies, including China, Russia, and Iran (?). Yeshua warned we would hear of wars and rumors of wars in the last days (Matthew 24:6). The Seal Judgments are relevant, including the Second Seal Judgment (Revelation 6:3-4): When the Lamb [Yeshua] opened the second seal, I [John] heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” Then another horse came out, fiery red. The one riding on it was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. He was given a great sword. The “great sword” surely represents nuclear weapons. Nuclear warfare is promised elsewhere in the Bible, such as the Burden of Damascus (when Damascus, Syria is transformed into a “ruinous heap” in one night [Isaiah 17:1 ff]; after the failed attack on Israel by Magog [Russia] and allies in which there is “fire” on Magog [Ezekiel 39:6] and victorious Israel must cleanse the land [of radioactive fallout?] for a period of time [Ezekiel 39:9-13]; and so forth). Yeshua has warned us that bad times, including war, must come, but we are not to be alarmed (Matthew 24:6): [Yeshua said] “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must happen but it is not yet the end.” Let evil Putin and others plan to destroy the world. The Believer’s home is in Heaven, where there is perpetual peace and love (Revelation 2:20b): … Amen! Come, Lord Yeshua!

►TITLE (DATE): China successfully tests ‘phantom space strike’ weapon which can overwhelm an enemy’s missile defence systems ahead of a nuclear attack (February 20, 2023)

● SIGNIFICANCE: I repeat: in Yeshua’s prophecy of the end times, He declared (Matthew 24:6-7): “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must happen but it is not yet the end. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” Some things are clear: China is the major enemy of America and world peace; America’s military power is greatly weakened and in disarray; and the Biden-Harris administration is not prepared to lead a nation at war. Generals are accused of planning to fight the last war, instead of the next war. The next war will be swiftly concluded and will involve weaponry we cannot even imagine– including space technology. Yeshua also prophesied great horrors befalling humans from “powers of the heavens” in the end times (Luke 21:26): “People will lose heart from fear and anticipation of what is overtaking the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” It seems the end is fast drawing to a close. Prepare to meet  Yeshua face to face. Enjoy life, family, and friends while you can. Pray, with the Apostle John, for the soon coming of Lord Yeshua (Revelation 22:20b): … Amen! Come, Lord Yeshua! Only Yeshua’s return will save us from China’s nuclear (EMP?) attack!

►TITLE (DATE): Ukrainian Refugee Girl Finds San Francisco Schools So Violent She Wants to Go Back (February 19, 2023)

● SIGNIFICANCE: Wow! Ukraine war zone safer than San Francisco public school? Enough said! Yeshua warned of such conditions at the end of the Age (Mark 13:12): [Yeshua said] “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. And children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.”

►TITLE (DATE): WHO convenes ‘urgent’ meeting over outbreak of Marburg virus– one of the world’s deadliest diseases that kills 90% of patients and has no cure (February 14, 2023)

● SIGNIFICANCE: Growing numbers of infectious diseases are arising (Marburg virus, Ebola, virulent influenza, etc.). Antibiotics are becoming less effective (greater bacterial resistance). Worldwide air travel can spread disease throughout the continents overnight. Hostile governments are developing microbial weapons of mass destruction. We are witnessing the preparation for the Fourth Seal Judgment (Revelation 6:7-8): When the Lamb [Yeshua] opened the fourth seal, I [John] heard the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” Behold, I saw a horse, pale greenish gray. The name of the one riding on it was Death, and Sheol was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword and by famine and by plague and by the wild beasts of the earth. I interpret death from “the wild beasts of the earth” not to be from attacks by wild animals but attacks transmitted from animals (vectors) to humans. For example, COVID is caused by a bat virus passed to humans.

►TITLE (DATE): The earthquake in Turkey is one of the deadliest this century. Here’s why (February 9, 2023)

  • SOURCE (URL): CNN https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/07/middleeast/earthquake-turkey-syria-why-deadly-intl/index.html
  • SUMMARY: Thousands of people have died and tens of thousands of others were injured by the devastating earthquakes that rocked Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023. The article answers some questions about this major earthquake which has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of victims. This strike slip earthquake occurred along a fault created at the juncture of the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

● SIGNIFICANCE: Yeshua cited earthquakes as a sign of the end times in His Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:6a, 7d): [Yeshua said] “You will hear of… earthquakes in various places.” A variety of Believers argue that earthquakes are increasing in frequency and severity, thereby fulfilling Yeshua’s prophecy. Scientists assure us that no such thing is happening. Earthquakes are not now more frequent or severe, than in the past. Believers who teach that earthquakes are increasing seemingly misread the Bible. Yeshua did not say earthquakes will increase in severity or number in the last days. He did say, “You will hear of earthquakes in various places.” Yeshua and disciples living in the first century only knew about earthquakes they felt or learned about from passing caravan drivers. They knew nothing about earthquakes in other parts of the world (Pacific Rim, North and South America, and so forth). Today, we have satellite television, geological survey Websites, and other resources that inform us of earthquakes in all parts of the world almost in real time. This rapid dissemination of information fulfills Yeshua’s qualification, “You will hear of…..” For example, I was watching the news in 2010, when the program was interrupted by a news flash that Haiti had just been struck by an earthquake. I felt no quaking, but I knew of Haiti’s disaster within minutes of its occurrence. Daniel prophesied that one of the signs of the end times will be the increase of knowledge, which includes worldwide news transmission (Daniel 12:4): [An angel said] “But you, Daniel, close up the words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will run back and forth and knowledge will increase.” Only in the past few decades have we had such an explosion of knowledge and rapid communication systems.

►TITLE (DATE): Four Views of Revelation (April 20, 2009– see following explanation for date)

  • SOURCE (URL): Probe https://probe.org/four-views-of-revelation/
  • SUMMARY: One of the most intriguing books of the Bible is the book of Revelation. Much debate surrounds the proper interpretation of this apocalyptic work. Is this book a prophecy of future events yet to take place, or have the prophecies of this book been fulfilled? Four major viewpoint exist– the idealist, the preterist, the historicist, and the futurist views.

● SIGNIFICANCE: This article was published more than a decade ago, not this year. I reference the article because readers may be confused about the different viewpoints scholars may take. This article summarizes the differences.

CONCLUSION: Thousands of news articles and commentaries applicable to the last days were published this month, but I can only sample a very few. We await Lord Yeshua! Humans cannot repair the damages we have done, are doing, and will do. Only Yeshua can set all things straight. Until next Sunday, Shalom and Maranatha.

Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarsson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Sun 5 Mar-2023 12th of Adar, 5783
Ex 30:11-31:17 Isa 3-4 Pr 3 Ac 3 (Heb 9)