Rabbi’s Reflections – Sunday, August 28, 2022
Shavuah Tov *|FNAME|*,
Biblical Perspective of Current News (Part of August 2022)
by Dr. Raymond Finney
INTRODUCTION: I continue my end-of-the-month RR discussion of some current news and commentary articles which show that we surely must be approaching the last days. God will tell us in advance about Yeshua’s impending return (the last days). He is not only telling us, He seems to be shouting from every possible vantage point: “My Son, Yeshua HaMashiach, is returning soon! Are you ready to receive Him?”
►TITLE (DATE): The tide is turning against transgender activism! (August 19, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): WorldNetDaily ( The tide is turning against transgender activism! (wnd.com) )
● SUMMARY: Just as we should have compassion on those who truly struggle with their gender identity, we should stand firmly against transgender activism. Thankfully, there are more and more signs that the tide is turning against this latest example of sociological contagion. America is well behind a number of European nations that are reversing course much more rapidly than we are here in the States. It appears that they are driven more by medical data (and perhaps common sense and even compassion?) than by radical ideologies.
● SIGNIFICANCE: Some people are confused about their genders, and rarely birth defects result in ambiguous genitalia. However, God’s plan is for two genders (Genesis 1:27): … in the image of God [God] created [humankind], male and female He created them. – AND – (Genesis 5:2a): [This is the Book of the Genealogies of Adam] Male and female He created [humans]…. Yeshua confirmed this two-gender plan (Mark 10:6): [Yeshua said] “But from the beginning of creation, God ‘made them male and female.’” As part of America’s “woke” population, homosexuality, transgenderism, and other aberrations of sexuality are promoted as “normal” and “desirable.” Young children are recruited for sex change treatments. Very young children are “entertained” by drag queens. God forgive us! Parents and grandparents, watch very, very closely what is being taught to the children in your family in schools and other institutions. While this article may be a little encouraging and we must be compassionate toward others, sexual orientation confusion has entered schools, churches, scout organizations, government entities, etc., and some disciples of this confusion are after your children!
►TITLE (DATE): U.S. to hold trade talks with Taiwan; island’s military conducts drills (August 18, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): The Washington Times ( U.S. to hold trade talks with Taiwan; island’s military conducts drills – Washington Times )
● SUMMARY: (Many other articles of a similar nature are published this month.) The U.S. government will hold trade talks with Taiwan as a sign of support for the island democracy that China claims as its own territory, prompting Beijing to warn it will take action as necessary to “safeguard its sovereignty.” The announcement of trade talks comes after Beijing fired missiles into the sea to intimidate Taiwan after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this month became the highest-ranking American official to visit the island in 25 years.
● SIGNIFICANCE: Worldwide war with China is prophetically inevitable. American politicians keep “poking the bear,” while our military prowess falls. Does Pelosi know anything substantive about military preparedness or the intricacies of Chinese-Taiwanese politics? Or, was her visit merely a political stunt (a glorified photo-op)? China’s Xi Jinping wants to rule the world, and he realizes the United States is as poorly prepared for military response as it has been in many years. The United States has very powerful enemies (China, Russia, North Korea, various Islamic states, etc.). End-time prophecy is replete with many wars occurring throughout the world. In His Olivet Discourse, Yeshua prophesied (Matthew 24:6-7a): “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….” If Yeshua’s words are read in the original Greek, He prophesied several types of wars and conflicts– the very types of wars and conflicts that are now occurring. Notice that He said these things “MUST HAPPEN BUT IT IS NOT YET THE END.” We all want peace, but we will not experience true peace until the Prince of Peace comes to take us home. Since we can do nothing about this dangerous situation, we should enjoy life to the fullest and await Heaven with great anticipation. A Believer’s true home is not on Earth; it is in New Jerusalem.
►TITLE (DATE): Rep. McCaul: US ‘Needs to Wake Up’ to China’s Goal of World Domination (August 17, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): Newsmax ( Rep. McCaul to Newsmax: US ‘Needs to Wake Up’ to China’s Goal of World Domination | Newsmax.com )
● SUMMARY: Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told Newsmax that the United States desperately “needs to wake up” to China’s plan of “global economic and military domination.” McCaul pointed out how the Chinese Communist Party’s Belt and Road Initiative– a Silk Road ‘thing’ where they invest in the Indo-Pacific, Africa, Latin America” – is a multi-step plan to replace the U.S. as the world hegemon. McCaul explains other Chinese initiatives in this interview.
● SIGNIFICANCE: According to Revelation, chapter 9, marching to the west to engage the armies of the Antichrist and other combatants at the Battle of Armageddon will be a 200-million man army of the kings of the East– China, North Korea, etc. Only the highly populated Orient could mount such armed forces. We are preparing now for Armageddon! Enjoy buying cheap Chinese junk. Such purchases are financing future weapons of war for the kings of the East. Instead, buy American-made (or, made by an American ally) products.
►TITLE (DATE): Bible, illustrated Anne Frank’s Diary pulled from suburban Dallas school libraries (August 17, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): The Washington Times ( Bible, illustrated Anne Frank’s Diary pulled from suburban Dallas school libraries – Washington Times )
● SUMMARY: A suburban Dallas school district pulled copies of the Bible and a graphic novel version of “Anne Frank’s Diary,” among other books, one day before classes began.
● SIGNIFICANCE: Hatred of and persecution against Jews and Believers (Christians) will intensify, as we prepare for the reign of the Unholy Trinity. Be prepared for persecution (or worse).
►TITLE (DATE): The Slippery Slope: Harbingers of Total Tyranny (August 17, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): Harbingers Daily ( The Slippery Slope: Harbingers of Total Tyranny | Harbingers Daily )
● SUMMARY: The world is groaning in every category, and it lacks a leader. Biden, Macron, Trudeau, et al, have all demonstrated behavior that resembles the Keystone Kops. So what’s ahead? One of four scenarios may play out: 1) A great awakening (great revival) is coming. The days of Joel 2:28 are coming when God pours out His Spirit upon all people. 2) God is long suffering and patient and wants all to be saved, thus we have decades left to share the Gospel and rescue the lost. We should occupy until He comes and not be so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. We’ve heard about the Lord’s return for decades yet nothing happens. 3) In America, the forthcoming elections in 2022 and 2024 are going to turn America around. We can and will make America great again. Prosperity will return. Life will go back to normal. With the right people in office, earthly government works. 4) The Church [Believers in the Body of Messiah] is being perfected and tried by fire. But she will prevail and the Church will correct the problems on this planet, fulfilling, “On earth as it is in Heaven.” The Church will have dominion over the whole earth and then Messiah can return (Kingdom Now/Dominion Theology).
● SIGNIFICANCE: Author Jan Markell explores the possible future of the Body of Messiah under several scenarios.
►TITLE (DATE): ‘A monstrous lie’: Abbas’ ‘50 holocausts’ claim met with outrage in Israel, Germany (August 17, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): The Times of Israel ( ‘A monstrous lie’: Abbas ’50 holocausts’ claim met with outrage in Israel, Germany | The Times of Israel )
● SUMMARY: Prime Minister Lapid and others in Israel, Germany and the US expressed shock and outrage, after Palestinian Authority President Abbas accused Israel of committing “holocausts” against Palestinians over the years.
● SIGNIFICANCE: What? Would the Palestinian Authority spread lies against Israel? I will not quote Scriptures (too many), but Israel’s enemies will continue to try to defeat Israel in any way possible, as the last days approach. Never mind that the Palestinians and other Arabs are the ones who have been attacking Israel since the 1940s. For a summary of wars initiated against Israel since 1948, see: List of wars involving Israel – Wikipedia .
►TITLE (DATE): America’s $30bn legalized cannabis industry is causing an ‘explosion’ of teen users: … sold with minimal oversight, increases risk of addiction and psychosis among kids… ( August 17, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): The Daily Mail ( Legalizing pot leads to greater use among teens and young adults, upping the chances of addiction | Daily Mail Online )
● SUMMARY: Teenagers in states that have legalized cannabis use more of it and are lured by colorfully-packaged, candy-like products that leave them vulnerable to higher rates of dependency, psychosis, and school dropouts.
● SIGNIFICANCE: The U.S. Government (National Institute on Drug Abuse) admits that marijuana use is likely to precede use of other licit (legal) and illicit (illegal) substances and the development of addiction to other substances. Therefore, marijuana is a “gateway drug.” But, millions of Americans treat use of this dangerous drug as a harmless, beneficial pastime. The United States is plagued with drug abuse/ usage, including deadly fentanyl crossing through our wide-open southern border. In The Revelation, we are warned of people living in the end-times who would not repent of their “sorceries” (Revelation 9:22). Leading to the destruction of Babylon the Great (America?) was the “deception of your sorcery” (Revelation 18:23). “Sorcery” is a weird translation, having nothing to do with magical arts. Here, the translated word is φαρμακεία (transliterated, pharmakeia || pronounced, far-mak-I-ah). The pharm- root makes translation of the word obvious. Pharmakeia is the “use of drugs (mind-altering potions).” God surely will hold people accountable, if they pollute their senses with drugs, as well as, nations which legalize such use. A person’s body is the temple of God (multiple verses), and this temple must not be polluted with drugs. Such use hearkens back to drug-fueled pagan worship.
►TITLE (DATE): Israel, Turkey return to full normalization (August 17, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): The Jerusalem Post ( Israel, Turkey return to full normalization – Israel News – The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com) )
● SUMMARY: Israel and Turkey will return to full normalization of relations, including reinstating ambassadors and consuls-general, Prime Minister Lapid and Turkish President Erdogan announced.
● SIGNIFICANCE: On the surface, this should be wonderful news. After all, the Bible states (Psalm 133:1): … Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
for brothers to dwell together in unity! Israel’s Lapid said: “Renewing relations with Turkey is an important asset for regional stability and important economic news for the citizens of Israel.” Turkey’s Erdogan may have betrayed his motive, saying that normalization of relations with Israel will “allow us to help our Palestinian brothers.” Is it in Israel’s best interests to help (help how?) the “Palestinians?” In the future Battle of Gog and Magog (Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39), Turkey will be one of the confederate nations involved in the surprise, unprovoked attack against Israel. Most students identify Magog as Russia, but some believe Magog is Turkey. At any rate, should Israel be wary of any love shown Turkey?
►TITLE (DATE): Wormwood and Gall ( August 15, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): The Daily Jot ( Wormwood and gall – The Daily Jot )
● SUMMARY: In lamenting over Zion (Jeremiah 9:13-15), the Lord said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them, therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.’” This grieving could also reflect today’s America. When the federal government uses policing powers for political purposes, no one in the land of Liberty is safe. And because of this nation’s spiritual condition, it is akin to being fed a diet of wormwood and gall.
● SIGNIFICANCE: Author Bill Wilson argues for greater reliance upon God to correct the ills of a nation.
►TITLE (DATE): The Coming Rapture/ Tribulation (August 14, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com ( CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD: WHY DO WE TEACH PROPHECY? THE COMING RAPTURE/TRIBULATION (pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com) )
● SUMMARY: With the end of this age so obviously at hand, why teach prophecy? This is a very broad subject and there are many reasons why we should pay attention to the signs around us that point to the fulfillment of the words found in your Bible. Many of those who think prophecy has been fulfilled and nothing is awaiting out there save the return of Yeshua, discount any mention of prophecy, as they are what is known as preterists. These deceived people believe that all was fulfilled in AD 70 with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Roman army and the nation of Israel was no more.
● SIGNIFICANCE: Pastor Taylor summarizes representative prophetic Scriptures to show where in God’s history we now live.
►TITLE (DATE): Famine, Pestilence, and Control Developing (August 13, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): Rapture Ready ( Famine, Pestilence, and Control Developing :: By Daymond Duck – Rapture Ready )
● SUMMARY: Concerning famine and food shortages: past articles have mentioned that the World Economic Forum (WEF) is trying to control global farming by reducing the use of fertilizer and chemicals farmers use, reducing the number of cattle farmers and ranchers can raise, encouraging humans to eat insects instead of meat, etc. Land use, food production, and climate change are part of the “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
● SIGNIFICANCE: The first four judgments– the Seal Judgments– during the Tribulation (depicted as “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”) are outlined in Revelation 6:1-8. These deadly judgments (the conditions for global catastrophes to experience these judgments) are now being readied. The author mentions an initiative of the United Nations– The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Read this United Nations’ initiative to “transform the world” at: 21252030 Agenda for Sustainable Development web.pdf (un.org) . The agenda has lofty goals on paper (summarized) – “to end poverty and hunger in all forms and dimensions; protect the planet from degradation; ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives; foster peaceful, just, and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence; and implement the Agenda through a revitalized Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, based on a spirit of strengthened global solidarity, focused in particular on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable and with the participation of all countries, all stakeholders, and all people.” Of course, most people recognize that these goals are lofty boilerplate language, crafted by wordsmiths and have no practical implications. The Antichrist will rise to power, using lofty promises and smooth oratory to solve the world’s ills. He will co-opt global organizations (United Nations? Other?) to establish legitimacy and quickly reach the masses. The colored horses of Revelation 6 surely are saddled and ready to ride!
►TITLE (DATE): Israel, the Benchmark for End-time Prophecy (August 8, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com ( CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD: ISRAEL, THE BENCH-MARK FOR END TIME PROPHECY (pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com) )
● SUMMARY: Pastor Mike Taylor reviews multiple Scriptures that must be fulfilled in the last days.
● SIGNIFICANCE: Israel is the linchpin off end-time prophecy fulfillment. All end-time prophecies revolve around the unprecedented return of Jews from the Diaspora, the re-establishment of a unified Israel, how nations of the world treat Israel, and so many other factors. Yeshua taught the Parable of the Fig Tree (Matthew 24:32-44). He advised His followers to watch for the budding of the fig tree because summer is near. In the present world, the fig tree buds in the Spring and figs are harvested in the Summer. In the Biblical world, the fig tree represents Israel (and the Jews who populate this nation). The fig tree budded in May, 1948, when Jews returned from their worldwide dispersal, the Diaspora (which began the final time in AD 70). That was the Spring in Yeshua’s parable. The Jews took wasteland surrounded by powerful, hostile enemies and turned their tiny nation into an agricultural and technological marvel. Summer is the time figs are harvested. “Figs” are harvested in this parable, when Yeshua returns in the clouds to call Believers home to be with Him forever. Yeshua promised that “the generation which sees this rebirth of Israel” (people alive in 1948) will not all die until Yeshua returns in His glory. Every day that passes since May, 1948 is one day closer to Yeshua’s return! As the Apostle John prayed (Revelation 22:20b): … Amen! Come, Lord Yeshua!
►TITLE (DATE): IRS hiring agents that must ‘carry gun,’ ‘use deadly force’ during ‘dangerous assignments’ (August 10, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): American Military News ( IRS hiring agents that must ‘carry gun,’ ‘use deadly force’ during ‘dangerous assignments’ | American Military News )
● SUMMARY: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) seeks to hire special agents that will be required to “carry a firearm” and “be willing to use deadly force” during possible “dangerous assignments,” according to a job posting on the IRS Website. The special agents will be part of IRS’ Criminal Investigation Division, described as the service’s “law enforcement branch” and designed to combine “accounting skills with law enforcement skills to investigate financial crimes.”
● SIGNIFICANCE: Why the sudden need for 87,000 gun-toting accountants? This request will add to the firepower of other federal departments by adding to presumed peaceful (non-military) jobs those who carry guns and have access to large quantities of ammunition. Two years ago, the IRS had an arsenal of 4,600 firearms (and more than 3-million rounds of ammunition), but new legislation proposes the firepower to be increased by up to 87,000 more agents. The IRS now has less than 79,000 full-time employees, which would more than double by 87,000 more with the new legislation. It is reported that 76 non-military, non-law enforcement agencies have stockpiled large quantities of weapons and ammunition. These federal employees in “peaceful” (non-military) branches of the federal government will number more than the military strength of many nations. The Posse Comitatus Act– a United States federal law signed by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878– limits the powers of the federal government to use federal military personnel to enforce domestic policies within the United States. A question we must fear: Is the federal government building a “private militia” to be used within the United States against Americans to circumvent the Posse Comitatus Act? That is, it is against the Posse Comitatus Act to deploy U.S. military personnel within the United States’ border, but it is not against the law to deploy armed IRS agents. Beware even the government. Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC – 43 BC) said: “A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.”
►TITLE (DATE): 50 Radical Policies in the Inflation Reinforcement Act
(August 10, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): The Republican Study Committee ( 50 Radical Policies in the Inflation Reinforcement Act | Fatherly Advice and Rants )
● SUMMARY: Congress recently passed the Inflation Reduction Act (even though inflation is not addressed). Fifty questionable provisions in the 725-page bill are uncovered and discussed in this article. If you can control your blood pressure, read what our legislators are doing for (to?) us in Washington.
● SIGNIFICANCE: How much longer can the American experiment (a republic based on the Constitution) exist? Many prophecy scholars have suggested that the United States must fall before the Antichrist’s government can rise. Is America now falling, as we citizens watch helplessly? Is America becoming a third-world nation? America is deeply in debt. How much debt can we continue to accrue? For the Bible’s guidance on becoming indebted, see: 31 Bible verses about Being In Debt (knowing-jesus.com) .
►TITLE (DATE): Proving Josephus: Research on Roman ballistics confirms Second Temple battle account (August 7, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): The Times of Israel ( Proving Josephus: Research on Roman ballistics confirms Second Temple battle account | The Times of Israel )
● SUMMARY: For the first time in the research of ancient Jerusalem, physical evidence uncovered in recent excavations has proven Jewish historian Josephus Flavius’ account of the AD 70 conquest of the holy city. Through computer analysis of 2,000-year-old Roman ballistics uncovered in Israel Antiquities Authority excavations in Jerusalem’s Russian Compound near modern Jerusalem’s Municipality building, an archaeologist claims he has demonstrated the veracity of Josephus’ narrative charted in his book, The History of the Jewish War against the Romans.
● SIGNIFICANCE: This article probably has little prophetic significance, but is presented out of interest.
►TITLE (DATE): Al Sharpton Says Bible Endorses Killing Babies in Abortion (VIDEO) (August 7, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): Gateway Pundit ( Al Sharpton Says Bible Endorses Killing Babies in Abortion (VIDEO) (thegatewaypundit.com) )
● SUMMARY: Question for the “Reverend:” If I am outraged by my next-door neighbor’s actions, is it acceptable (is it Biblical) for me to shoot and kill him, provided I “choose” to do so in “privacy?”Al Sharpton (“Reverend” Al) argued that the Bible endorses abortion because the Bible is about choice.
● SIGNIFICANCE: A question for the “Reverend:” If I am outraged by my next-door neighbor’s actions, is it acceptable (is it Biblical) for me to shoot and kill him, provided I “choose” to do so in “privacy?” Sharpton’s statement should be read alongside Isaiah 5:20: Oy to those who call evil good and good evil, who present darkness as light and light as darkness, who present bitter as sweet, and sweet as bitter! Would the Apostle Paul classify “the Reverend” as a false teacher? (See 2 Timothy 4:3-4): For the time will come when they will not put up with sound instruction, but they will pile up for themselves teachers in keeping with their own desires, to have their ears tickled. And they will turn away from hearing the truth and wander off to myths.
►TITLE (DATE): After years of denial, Iran now openly says regime has ability to make nuclear bomb (August 4, 2022)
● SOURCE (URL): The Times of Israel ( After years of denial, Iran now openly says regime has ability to make nuclear bomb | The Times of Israel )
● SUMMARY: Iranian officials now speak openly about something long denied by Tehran as it enriches uranium at its closest-ever levels to weapons-grade material. The Islamic Republic is ready to build atomic weapons at will.
● SIGNIFICANCE: Iran (identified in the Tanakh as Persia) will be a major enemy in the coming War of Gog and Magog (example: Ezekiel 38:5). The prophecy describes warfare that will use nuclear weaponry.
CONCLUSION: There are so many news articles and commentaries, but so little RR space. I have only skimmed the surface of the many items printed this month, which show that our Yeshua is at the door, knocking to come in (Revelation 3:20a): [Yeshua said] “Behold, I stand at the door and knock….” Shomair Yisrael congregants should do everything possible to open that door and welcome Yeshua into our hearts and presence. I believe Yeshua will appreciate an invitation to come in, because He is rebuffed in so many other places and by so many other people. Make Yeshua welcome in your life at all times. Until next Sunday, Shalom and Maranatha.
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Sun 28-Aug-2022 1st of Elul, 5782 Rosh Chodesh Elul (Day 2)
De 16:18-17:13 Hos 7-8 1 Ch 26 (Jn 13) Heb 4