Here at home in the USA, I think economically 2012 will be an OK year. Even if it isn’t, it will be reported to be so, because that is what is needed for President Obama to be reelected. And yes I do believe that he will be reelected.

On the world stage I believe we will see “war” breakout in the Middle East (or should I say more war). I don’t think the USA will get involved with ground troops, but perhaps they will launch some missiles.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Israel preemptively attacked Iran in order to prevent Iran from attacking them with a nuclear bomb. Even though Israel obviously can’t wait until they are hit with a nuclear bomb, Israel will be made out to be the villain by the world press. It will be interesting to see how all of this unfolds.

Much has been made of the Mayan calendar. Let me just say that if anything transpires from this it will be one of two things; either the presenting of an alien, as I’ve stated in the past, if this happens, please know that this “being” is not an alien from another planet, but either a fallen angel (demon) or one of their offspring (the Nephilim) (Genesis 6:1 – 4). Or because the Mayan calendar is connected with “divine feminine” and the balance between the feminine and masculine it could be an appearance of “The Queen of Heaven” (Jer. 7:18). I’ve addressed both of these issues in the “The Prophecy Puzzle“, but not in the context of the Mayan calendar. A great book on “The Queen of Heaven” is “The Queen of All” by Jim Tetlow, Roger Oakland and Brad Myers.

In the four to five years after 2012 (definitely in the next 10 to 20 years) I expect the economy in the USA and the world to fall drastically and for fuel prices to at least triple. I expect many of our freedoms to vanish, especially our freedom of speech. I expect after a time of war and suffering in the Middle East a peace treaty with Israel will be made and that part of that treaty will be to give Israel the right to rebuild their temple. This is the key event. About and I repeat about three and a half years after that event the rapture will happen (Please read “The Prophecy Puzzle” for details).

I believe the two main causes of these wars and economic disaster will be the continued expansion of Islam and socialism worldwide. The Muslims believe that their savior (the Twelve Imam / the Mahdi) comes to the forefront out of a time of extreme chaos. The wars in the Middle East and worldwide terrorist acts will produce that chaos in the next five to twenty years and bring forth the “world’s savior”, aka the “twelfth Imam”, the Christian’s “anti-Christ”.

I know that I’m setting myself up to be ridiculed, but if I’m correct I hope and pray that people will turn to Christ Jesus or be encouraged in their faith, because they have read this and were not surprised (1 Thes. 5:4). It is normal for people to have doubts when they fall into unexpected hard times. Even John the Baptist had doubts about Jesus Christ when he found himself in prison (Mat. 11:2 – 3).

My hope and prayer is that no matter what happens in 2012 and beyond we will all trust in Jesus Christ and if all hell does break loose on earth that we will be strong in our faith knowing that YHWH-God is faithful and that hard times or even persecution do not indicate that YHWH-God has stopped loving us (Romans 8:31 – 39).

The book of Revelation is filled with descriptions and images of horrific pain and suffering that must accompany Jesus Christ’s return, but John the author of Revelation in his closing statement says “…. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” – Revelation 22:20 – 21.

Remember what it says in Romans 8:31 – 39. Experiencing pain and suffering does not mean that God has forgotten us or has left us. We are told to expect persecution and trouble in this life (John 16:33), but all who continue in trusting Jesus will have great reward beyond our imagination in the next life.

In closing, it might be tempting to stop meeting together with believers as persecutions increase, but we’re told not to let that happen, especially as we see the day of Jesus’ return approaching (Heb. 10:25). So be sure to be part of a healthy, Bible centered church!

Shalom,

Joe (The Prophecy Puzzle)

It doesn’t matter if you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, etc. All the candidates are included in the survey. At the end you will see which politician agrees with you the most and how often they do. Also at the end of this survey just to the right of your results, there is a listing of the candidates and if you click on a name it gives you a summary of their positions on many of the important issues.

One last thing about the survey. I suggest on #21 you ignore that one, because both ”Truth-O-Meter and “Poltifact.com” are quite biased.

In just over a week the primaries begin. It is hard to tell what an individual actually believes in 30 second soundbites and commercials that often focus on what the other guy believes or has done, instead of what that politician actually believes and supports. Please take the time to get informed on what the issues are and where the candidates stand on them. And above all pray for our nation and for whom you should cast your vote. We are at a turning point in history. By God’s grace and the gift of our constitution we have a say in which way, we as a nation turn.

I received the following e-mail and thought it does a good job of putting things in terms we can understand. I hope it will convey to you the seriousness of the situation we are in and cause you to seek YHWH-God’s guidance for whom to cast your vote. Here is part of it:

“Subject: Lesson #1 and lesson #2 (a must to read….so simple)

We don’t want Isaiah 5:12 – 14 to apply to us.

Shalom,

Joe Ebenhoe (The Prophecy Puzzle)

I hope we all celebrate Jesus this Christmas, but it is truly easy to lose sight of Him in all the commotion of the season. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself, “Why do we celebrate Christmas anyway?” Why is it so important that Jesus Christ was born of a woman as a 100% human baby?

I can think of at least two reasons: One, because He had to be human to be our kinsman-redeemer and two; He had to live the perfect life, keeping all of the Law as a human in order to have the perfect righteousness to give to anyone who would trust in Him, calling out to Him to be their Savior and LORD (Romans 3:19 – 28) (Romans 5:9 – 21).

This Christmas season take a moment to stop and think about what Jesus Christ did for us. I know I often overlook what He chose to leave to become human. He was existing eternally in heaven as God with angels worshiping and serving Him continually. He left all of that to become a helpless human baby who would feel hunger, the sting of diaper rash and the other aches and pains of a typical life. He experienced all the joys and sorrows of childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Let us also remember that He allowed Himself to experience the most painful and humiliating death possible, crucifixion (Phil. 2:5 – 11) (Col. 1:15 – 23).

In order to be a kinsman-redeemer, one must be a relative. In order for Jesus Christ to redeem us (the human race), he had to be 100% human. It was through His real, 100% human body He purchased our souls from hell (Col. 1:22) (Hebrews 10:8 – 14) (1Peter 2:24).

As you go about buying and giving gifts this Christmas season make sure you receive and give thanks for the “gifts” YHWH-God has for you: The Holy Spirit, righteousness, eternal life and salvation.

May you have a Jesus Christ filled Christmas season!

Shalom,

Joe Ebenhoe (The Prophecy Puzzle)

If you are like me you have many fond memories of dressing up in silly costumes and going trick-or-treating and eating way too much candy. For most of us that is all Halloween is, but we probably at least in passing heard of the origins of Halloween. That it is actually the ancient pagan holiday of Samhain and many today still use it to practice black magic.

You might be saying that those are sad facts, but it still doesn’t make Halloween anything like Christmas. Well, actually it does. I would not be surprised that someone who is reading this blog became a Christian (trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and LORD) because of a Christmas service they attended. They might of only went to church one day that year, Christmas, but on that day they heard how “God the Son” left His throne in heaven, became a human baby boy, lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death and overcame the grave by rising from the dead and now offers eternal life to all who call out to Him for salvation (Rom. 8:1 – 11). That day the celebration of Christmas brought someone to salvation in Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, Halloween is used by Satan to draw unsuspecting individuals to him. To a life of enslavement and debauchery. Here in the USA we can seem to exist without ever encountering the “spirit world” and it is easy to pretend that all that truly is, is what we can see and touch. But if you know someone from Africa, South America or Haiti for example, they will be able to tell that the “spirit world” is real and active in ours.

Halloween is only one of many ”gateways” to the demonic realm. If you talk to someone who was a drug addict, they may tell you that they saw demons when under the influence of those drugs. This is not a surprise as the Greek word for “witchcraft” (Gal. 5:20) is “Pharmakia”, the same word from which we derive our modern day ”pharmacy”. Back in biblical times it was associated with the use of drugs and often used in the casting of spells and other sorcery. In Rev. 18:23 it states that by the sorceries (pharmakia) of the anti-Christ all the nations were deceived.

The larger point here is that Satan is always looking for ways to destroy people (1Peter 5:8). Just as YHWH-God uses Christmas to draw people to Jesus Christ, Satan uses seemingly harmless things like Halloween, ouija boards, hypnotism and yoga (to name a few) to draw people to himself. It is never safe to open ones mind to the unknown – or to a “known” “familiar spirit” (recommendation: “The Light that was Dark” by Warren Smith).

As Christians we are to use our minds to test the spirits (1John 4:1) and to worship YHWH-God and grow in knowledge of Him.

Shalom,

Joe Ebenhoe (The prophecy Puzzle)

As far as how federal taxes are collected in this country we have two problems. Not enough people pay them and those who do often pay too much. About half of the people in this country do not pay any federal income tax at all. These fall into two groups, “the poor” and the super wealthy, like GE, which made 14 Billion dollars and didn’t pay any taxes (federal income taxes)!

If Cain’s 9-9-9 plan is implemented correctly it would result in companies like GE paying a flat 9%, in their case 1.26 Billion dollars! It would also result in more people paying at least something. The poor would get a credit at the end of the year so they wouldn’t be paying the full nine percent, but depending at what the levels were set at they would pay something. I think everyone should pay at least one or two percent. That way they have “skin in the game”, which gives them reason to care about what the government does with their money! Taxation without representation is wrong, but representation without taxation isn’t good either.

Ideally we would eliminate individual income tax completely. We tax things we want to discourage, like smoking and we give tax credit for things we want to encourage like buying a home. So we should not tax income, because we want to encourage work. A straight federal sales tax would be best.

The other benefit to lowering corporate taxes is because of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). Let’s pretend you own a company and your profits are $100,000,000. If your company is in USA you’ll pay (35%) $35,000,000 in corporate taxes. If your company is in Mexico you’ll pay (30%) $30,000,000 in corporate taxes and if your company is in Canada you’ll pay (16.5%) $16,500,000 in corporate taxes. That is a savings of $18,500,000! All things considered where would you place your company? Anyone with half a brain would place it in Canada. That is one reason why Canada’s economy is doing so well, while we and most of the world are hurting. If the USA dropped its corporate tax rate to 9% this same company would only pay $9,000,000 in corporate taxes.

More companies moving to the USA means more jobs, which means more employed people, which means more people paying taxes, which means a larger tax revenue for Uncle Sam. Everyone in the USA wins, but don’t think for a moment that the people who developed the current tax laws didn’t know exactly what they were doing. They knew they would result in the siphoning of USA wealth to other “more deserving” countries, and they have worked very well.

But our real problem in this country is not a lack of revenue for the federal government. We have three main problems.

First, a spending problem. We steal from those who work for their money and give it to those who don’t, demoralizing both parties. We spend hundreds of billions trying to buy friends with nations that have openly expressed their hatred for us. And we have fraud almost beyond imagination within our government, which cost us billions of dollars every year.

Secondly, we have a moral problem. Yes, the spending problems mentioned above are all a result of this deeper moral problem. In addition to that we have a society that thinks nothing of divorce, which devastates families both financially and emotionally. This of course is often a result of adultery, drug and alcohol abuse, etc. All of which lead back to the lack of morals. There are numerous such examples I could list, but it is obvious that the cost of immorality is staggering, yet seldom given its rightful blame in our society.

Thirdly, we have a spiritual problem. The moral problems just discussed are a result of a Godless society. In 1892 A.D. the Supreme Court declared that the United States of America was a “Christian Nation”. That is no longer true. When I was a child, it might have been true that most people in the USA were not Christians, but until the 1960′s most Americans had some type of Christian value system. That is no longer true today. At the heart of this problem has been the removal of God from our school system and the key issue they have used to accomplish this is the teaching of evolution. Macro- evolution is not scientific! It is not in any way, shape or form a fact. It is a theory. A theory with huge problems and is far more religious in its nature than scientific. Please read my previous blog on this issue, “Yes, we are here because of evolution!”

In my opinion, perhaps if we elect Herman Cain or maybe Michele Bachmann to be our next president and maintain a true conservative majority in Congress and establish one in the Senate, perhaps things might get better for a while, but until we address the real issue, the lack of Christians and Christianity in our country and government, I have little hope for the USA.

Who I do have hope in and complete confidence in is Jesus Christ. I know that even though things might get continually worse for us, He is faithful and one day I will be with Him forever.

So what do we do to prepare for a difficult future? Some recommend buying land and planting a vegetable garden, so at least one has food. Others recommend buying gold and silver. Those might be good things to do, I don’t know. What I think the wisest thing to do to prepare for the future is to study God’s Word. Know it inside and out. I believe He has told us what to expect in the future and if we are prepared for it and rooted in Him and His Word, our faith will remain strong even in the face of martyrdom. I believe “The Prophecy Puzzle” can be a useful aid in that process.

Shalom

Joe Ebenhoe

Why do I bring this up? Well, many believe, as I do that it is very likely that UFO’s will play a role in end-time events. I discuss this in chapter ten in “The Prophecy Puzzle“, but for now I would just like to make it very clear that if there is contact made with UFO’s (extraterrestials) DO NOT BE DECEIVED they are not beings from another planet. They are either “fallen angels” (demons) or the “Nephilim” spoken of in Genesis 6:1 – 5 and Numbers 13:33.

These beings will probably come in peace, giving supposed solutions for hunger, poverty and disease. But their real purpose will be to deceive all mankind and lead us toward embracing the false Messiah (anti-Christ) and later to worship the image, which he will place in the Holy of Holies in the Jewish temple and brings to life (Revelation 13:14 – 15).

I know that much of what I discuss sounds like nonsense, but I hope and pray when these things begin to happen, even if it is ten or twenty years from now you will remember what you’ve read and take the appropriate action. What will that be? In general I can tell you that it will be to hold onto Jesus Christ. Never stop trusting in the ever-faithful YHWH-God!

Shalom

Let me explain. Recently I returned from a vacation where I had gone back home. Home to the heartland of America where the fields are full of ten feet high corn, the air is clean and fresh and families spend their spare time watching their kids play baseball. The stock market falling 400 points in one day didn’t seem to matter much there. In fact a lot of the people probably didn’t even stop to process the meaning of that news. Life was good
and life was simple.

I have to admit, it did me good to get away and to see the world from a different point of view, but at the same time I saw the danger of the “Midwestern simple life”. One can be deceived by the appearance of plenty. While I truly believe those who live in the country will have an advantage over us city slickers, hard times will hurt there too.

That brings me back to Greece and the falling stock market. Next week President Obama will be announcing a new “jobs plan” and his solution will be to spend more of OUR money which we don’t have, so actually he will be spending borrowed money or he will suggest “QE3” (Quantum Easing three) which in the final analysis means he will be printing money out of thin air.

What makes all of this worse is that too many of the solutions being proposed for Greece and Europe’s problems are all the same kind of “fixes” being proposed by President Obama.

Let me use the illustration of a huge balloon to explain what is happening here. The balloon is world debt and each dollar that is either borrowed or printed, either literally or indirectly through plans like QE2 is another puff of air into the balloon. At some point the balloon will pop. When that happens there will be worldwide hyperinflation, and the result of that will be extreme poverty for the large majority of people. YHWH-God in
the Bible puts it this way in Revelation 6:5 – 6,

“When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living being say, “Come!” And I looked up and saw a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. And a voice from among the four living beings said, “A loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley for a day’s pay. And don’t waste the olive oil and wine.” – NLT

We are not at that point in time yet. Revelation 6:6 is referring to the time after a peace treaty with Israel is signed giving them the right to rebuild the temple, but it is clear that the events we see happening around us each day are putting into place all of the things necessary for Rev. 6:6 to be reality.

I hope that you are preparing yourself physically, financially and most of all spiritually for this time ahead. It should not take us by surprise. Read your Bible, especially the prophecy sections. Also my book, “The Prophecy Puzzle” would be a good resource. In everything remember Proberbs 3:5 – 7, “Trust in the LORD (YHWH) with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” – KJV

Shalom,

Joe

There is so much I would like to say about this proposed deal to raise the debt ceiling, but I will restrain myself to only two points. No one, except a few of the “Tea Party” candidates is taking our national debt seriously.

This proposed deal does not CUT future spending. What it does is REDUCE the INCREASE in spending over the next ten years from 9.5 trillion to a 7.5 trillion. Plus NONE of the spending reductions are scheduled to take place until after the 2012 elections. And guess what, if the true conservatives do not take control of all three branches of government at that time, it is very unlikely that we will ever see many if any of those proposed REDUCTIONS (not cuts).

Also don’t believe the press or the Democrat politicians when they say this was a huge defeat for President Obama and a “Tea Party” victory. They are overjoyed with this bill. Read President Obama’s comments at Whitehouse.gov. They get everything they wanted and they get it NOW. The supposed compromises they made are all slated for more than a year down the road and probably will never materialize.

At times like these Philippians 3:20 is a great comfort to me and helps give me the proper perspective. I hope it does the same for you.

“But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.” – Phil. 3:20 (NLT)

The multi-trillion dollar question for next time is: Is Greece the word?

Shalom,

Joe (The Prophecy Puzzle)

I believe that our Constitution is a gift from God. That is why last weeks cover of ”Time” magazine and article is so disturbing. I also think the USA is a gift to the world.  It has been used by God to provide food and resources around the world, but most importantly it has been the hub of Christian evangelism for the past two  hundred years. But where do our loyalties to God and country separate or come together for that matter?

This question has been on my heart recently because of conversations I’ve been having with a Christian friend who happens to be a staunch Democrat. Yes, a Christian
Democrat. Not to be offensive, but that seems like an oxymoron to me, but I’m
sure my friend feels the same about the term “Christian Republican”. I don’t
make light of this issue. It is a very serious issue. One in which we all should put great thought. In the future I would like my Democrat friend (or any other Christian Democrat out there) to go through the Democrat platform and give Biblical support for their positions and I will do the same for the Republican platform, but that is for a later blog.

For now the question I raise is how far do we let politics define us as Christians? Do we
break fellowship over politics? Do we?

What I do know is that YHWH-God is in control and His will is being played out every day.
Take the Iraqi war for example. Was it the right thing to do? What I do know as I discuss in “The Prophecy Puzzle” is that during the last three and a half years of the great tribulation Iraq will be the political capital of the world. The billions of dollars we have and are pouring into Iraq are helping to make that possible.

The Bible also indicates that the USA will not be a major force during the seven-year
tribulation. The political, economic and social path we are on now will at the very best lead to a state of mediocrity.

The “Arab Spring” is happening, it doesn’t matter if it is good or bad, it is happening. I believe it will result in Israel being forced to defend itself which in turn will bring world-wide outrage against Israel. After the dust settles the “world” will have a peace treaty with Israel which will include Israel’s right to rebuild their temple. That peace treaty marks the beginning of the birth pains that announce the soon coming end just three and a half years later (details in “The Prophecy Puzzle” – chapters 8 – 14).

I discuss all of this to point out the importance of reaching others for Christ Jesus while we still can. The prophetic calendar is moving forward. With each passing day our opportunities vanish and tomorrow’s are not guaranteed, but if they do come I’m afraid it will be far more dangerous to take that opportunity to witness. Democrat or Republican, we all need Jesus Christ to save us from His righteous judgment (Romans 3:19-26).

Please join me in praying that we all continuously make a conscious effort to be listing for Jesus Christ and then to obey Him when we hear Him, including what He would have us do in regards to politics.

Shalom

Morning Offering

Sweet Jesus, lay Thy wounded hand upon my head and bless me.
Stretch forth that dear hand and bless each one at home. Now give me Thy crook
and I will return it to You tonight. Help me go around in your fold just for
today, doing Your work in Your way. Do not let the human in me spoil anything
You give me to do. Push me back when I would go wrong and make me go forward
when I am afraid to do right. Be with me in my dealings with each soul I come
in contact and grant that each may know, love and serve Thee better for having
passed me by. One favor more, that You will not think me presumptuous for You
to understand me; but I would like to know, love and serve You better than
anyone else on earth and when life’s little day is ended and its task complete,
give me a place at Your feet to rest for all eternity. Amen.

I take the opportunity of this Father’s Day to ask each of
us, what will we be remembered for? I believe that something else I know about
my father makes this a prudent question. For I know how he died.

It was December, 1964, and my father was just hired for a
new job. The employment process required a complete physical examination, so he
went to the doctor and was told he was very healthy and would live for decades.
After dinner that night my
father excused himself and said he had a bad headache and was going to bed
early. He never woke up. He had a cerebral hemorrhage.

The fact that I’m now a year older than my dad when he died
causes me to appreciate the time I have with my wife and kids more. I try not
to let the hustle and bustle of the day steal the joy from life and make time
for the truly important things in each day like asking my wife and kids about
their day and truly stopping to listen,
reading the Bible and praying with them, and smiling when they do something
silly to get my attention.

Not having a dad growing up makes me very much aware of the
two main roles of a father as well, that of disciplinarian and thermostat of
the home. Mothers are natural nurturers, but a home needs a man to lay down the
law and enforce it. That is our responsibility guys (Proverbs 13:24, 29:15,
29:17). Finally, we are the thermostat of the home in that we have the greatest
influence on the mood of the home and with that I would like to remind us to be
happy! It makes everything better (Proverbs 15:15).

On this Father’s Day I leave you with the wisdom of Proverbs
15:15 – 19.

Shalom from an imperfect, but sincere dad.

The Prophecy Puzzle

PS. Our kids know we are imperfect; they need to know we are
sincere.