The Middle East and America

Fred R. Coulter—October 5, 2013

- Video | - PDF | [Up]

Track 1 or Download

Today we're going to start out services with a special full message from Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of the Jews in Israel.

They call it Israel. I think until Christ returns it should be more properly called Palestine. I don't think with all the fighting and warring and bloodshed and death going on in the Middle East that it should be called the Holy Land at this time. It won't be Holy until Christ returns.

However, this follows up the sermon that I did, Syria, USA and Jerusalem. What is very important concerning this is that Netanyahu had all the leading rabbis, and this was about his fourth Bible study. So, it shows at least they are turning somewhat to God. He mentions some very interesting things concerning that. I'll have one other comment at the end having to do with Iran's view of Israel.

He gives in there a very interesting view, but there' s another lesson that I will bring out from the book of Esther that the Prime Minister of Iran and the Khamenei really need to take seriously. We'll go ahead and take a pause right now and we will watch Netanyahu.

(Netanyahu's speech to U.N. General Assembly, October 1, 2013, www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-netanyahus)

PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Thank you, Mr. President.

I feel deeply honored and privileged to stand here before you today representing the citizens of the state of Israel. We are an ancient people. We date back nearly 4,000 years to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We have journeyed through time. We've overcome the greatest of adversities.

And we re-established our sovereign state in our ancestral homeland, the land of Israel.

Now, the Jewish people's odyssey through time has taught us two things: Never give up hope, always remain vigilant. Hope charts the future. Vigilance protects it.

Today our hope for the future is challenged by a nuclear-armed Iran that seeks our destruction. But I want you to know, that wasn't always the case. Some 2,500 years ago the great Persian king Cyrus ended the Babylonian exile of the Jewish people. He issued a famous edict in which he proclaimed the right of the Jews to return to the land of Israel and rebuild the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. That's a Persian decree. And thus began an historic friendship between the Jews and the Persians that lasted until modern times.

But in 1979 a radical regime in Tehran tried to stamp out that friendship. As it was busy crushing the Iranian people's hope for democracy, it always led wild chants of "death of the Jews."

Now, since that time, presidents of Iran have come and gone. Some presidents were considered moderates, other hard-liners. But they've all served that same unforgiving creed, that same unforgiving regime, that creed that is espoused and enforced by the real power in Iran, the dictator known as the supreme leader, first Ayatollah Khomeini and now Ayatollah Khamenei.

President Rouhani, like the presidents who came before him, is a loyal servant of the regime. He was one of only six candidates the regime permitted to run for office. See, nearly 700 other candidates were rejected.

So what made him acceptable? Well, Rouhani headed Iran's Supreme National Security Council from 1989 through 2003. During that time Iran's henchmen gunned down opposition leaders in a Berlin restaurant. They murdered 85 people at the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. They killed 19 American soldiers by blowing up the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia.

Are we to believe that Rouhani, the national security adviser of Iran at the time, knew nothing about these attacks?

Of course he did, just as 30 years ago Iran's security chiefs knew about the bombings in Beirut that killed 241 American Marines and 58 French paratroopers.

Rouhani was also Iran's chief nuclear negotiator between 2003 and 2005. He masterminded the — the strategy which enabled Iran to advance its nuclear weapons program behind a smoke screen of diplomatic engagement and very soothing rhetoric.

Now I know: Rouhani doesn't sound like Ahmadinejad. But when it comes to Iran's nuclear weapons program, the only difference between them is this: Ahmadinejad was a wolf in wolf's clothing. Rouhani is a wolf in sheep's clothing, a wolf who thinks he can pull the eyes—the wool over the eyes of the international community.

Well, like everyone else, I wish we could believe Rouhani's words, but we must focus on Iran's actions. And it's the brazen contrast, this extraordinary contradiction, between Rouhani's words and Iran's actions that is so startling. Rouhani stood at this very podium last week and praised Iranian democracy—Iranian democracies. But the regime that he represents executes political dissidents by the hundreds and jails them by the thousands.

Rouhani spoke of, quote, "the human tragedy in Syria." Yet, Iran directly participates in Assad's murder and massacre of tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children in Syria. And that regime is propping up a Syrian regime that just used chemical weapons against its own people.

Rouhani condemned the, quote, "violent scourge of terrorism." Yet, in the last three years alone, Iran has ordered, planned or perpetrated terrorist attacks in 25 cities in five continents.

Rouhani denounces, quote, "attempts to change the regional balance through proxies." Yet, Iran is actively destabilizing Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain and many other Middle Eastern countries.

Rouhani promises, quote, "constructive engagement with other countries." Yet, two years ago, Iranian agents tried to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador in Washington, D.C. And just three weeks ago, an Iranian agent was arrested trying to collect information for possible attacks against the American embassy in Tel Aviv. Some constructive engagement.

I wish I could be moved by Rouhani's invitation to join his wave—a world against violence and extremism. Yet, the only waves Iran has generated in the last 30 years are waves of violence and terrorism that it has unleashed in the region and across the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, I wish I could believe Rouhani, but I don't because facts are stubborn things, and the facts are that Iran's savage record flatly contradicts Rouhani's soothing rhetoric.

Last Friday Rouhani assured us that in pursuit of its nuclear program, Iran—this is a quote—Iran has never chosen deceit and secrecy, never chosen deceit and secrecy. Well, in 2002 Iran was caught red-handed secretly building an underground centrifuge facility in Natanz. And then in 2009 Iran was again caught red-handed secretly building a huge underground nuclear facility for uranium enrichment in a mountain near Qom.

Rouhani tells us not to worry. He assures us that all of this is not intended for nuclear weapons. Any of you believe that? If you believe that, here's a few questions you might want to ask. Why would a country that claims to only want peaceful nuclear energy, why would such a country build hidden underground enrichment facilities?

Why would a country with vast natural energy reserves invest billions in developing nuclear energy? Why would a country intent on merely civilian nuclear programs continue to defy multiple Security Council resolutions and incur the tremendous cost of crippling sanctions on its economy?

And why would a country with a peaceful nuclear program develop intercontinental ballistic missiles, whose sole purpose is to deliver nuclear warheads? You don't build ICBMs to carry TNT thousands of miles away; you build them for one purpose, to carry nuclear warheads. And Iran is building now ICBMs that the United States says could reach this city in three or four years.

Why would they do all this? The answer is simple. Iran is not building a peaceful nuclear program; Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Last year alone, Iran enriched three tons of uranium to 3 1/2 percent, doubled its stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium and added thousands of new centrifuges, including advanced centrifuges. It also continued work on the heavy water reactor in Iraq; that's in order to have another route to the bomb, a plutonium path. And since Rouhani's election — and I stress this—this vast and feverish effort has continued unabated.

Ladies and gentlemen, underground nuclear facilities, heavy water reactors, advanced centrifuges, ICBMs. See, it's not that it's hard to find evidence that Iran has a nuclear program, a nuclear weapons program; it's hard to find evidence that Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapons program.

Last year when I spoke here at the UN I drew a red line. Now, Iran has been very careful not to cross that line but Iran is positioning itself to race across that line in the future at a time of its choosing. Iran wants to be in a position to rush forward to build nuclear bombs before the international community can detect it and much less prevent it.

Yet Iran faces one big problem, and that problem can be summed up in one word: sanctions. I have argued for many years, including on this podium, that the only way to peacefully prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons is to combine tough sanctions with a credible military threat. And that policy today is bearing fruit. Thanks to the efforts of many countries, many represented here, and under the leadership of the United States, tough sanctions have taken a big bite off the Iranian economy.

Oil revenues have fallen. The currency has plummeted. Banks are hard-pressed to transfer money. So as a result, the regime is under intense pressure from the Iranian people to get the sanctions relieved or removed.

That's why Rouhani got elected in the first place. That's why he launched his charm offensive. He definitely wants to get the sanctions lifted; I guarantee you that. But he doesn't want to give up Iranians' nuclear—Iran's nuclear weapons program in return.

Now here's a strategy to achieve this. First, smile a lot. Smiling never hurts. Second, pay lip service to peace, democracy and tolerance. Third, offer meaningless concessions in exchange for lifting sanctions. And fourth, and the most important, ensure that Iran retains sufficient nuclear material and sufficient nuclear infrastructure to race to the bomb at a time it chooses to do so.

You know why Rouhani thinks he can get away with this? I mean, this is a ruse. It's a ploy. Why does Rouhani think he—thinks he can get away with it? Because—because he's gotten away with it before, because his strategy of talking a lot and doing little has worked for him in the past.

He even brags about this. Here's what he said in his 2011 book about his time as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, and I quote: "While we were talking to the Europeans in Tehran, we were installing equipment in Isfahan."

Now, for those of you who don't know, the Isfahan facility is an indispensable part of Iran's nuclear weapons program. That's where uranium ore called yellowcake is converted into an enrichable form. Rouhani boasted, and I quote, "By creating a calm environment—a calm environment—we were able to complete the work in Isfahan." He fooled the world once. Now he thinks he can fool it again.

You see, Rouhani thinks he can have his yellowcake and eat it too. And he has another reason to believe that he can get away with this. And that reason is called North Korea. Like Iran, North Korea also said its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes. Like Iran, North Korea also offered meaningless concessions and empty promises in return for sanctions relief.

In 2005 North Korea agreed to a deal that was celebrated the world over by many well-meaning people. Here's what the New York Times editorial had to say about it, quote: "For years now, foreign policy insiders have pointed to North Korea as the ultimate nightmare, a closed, hostile and paranoid dictatorship with an aggressive nuclear weapons program. Very few could envision a successful outcome, and yet North Korea agreed in principle this week to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, return to the NPT, abide by the treaty's safeguards and admit international inspectors." And finally, "diplomacy, it seems, does work after all."

Ladies and gentlemen, a year later, North Korea exploded its first nuclear weapons device.

Yet, as dangerous as a nuclear-armed North Korea is, it pales in comparison to the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran. A nuclear-armed Iran would have a choke hold on the world's main energy supplies. It would trigger nuclear proliferation throughout the Middle East, turning the most unstable part of the planet into a nuclear tinderbox. And for the first time in history, it would make the specter of nuclear terrorism a clear and present danger. A nuclear-armed Iran in the Middle East wouldn't be another North Korea. It would be another 50 North Koreas.

Now, I know that some in the international community think I'm exaggerating this threat. Sure, they know that Iran's regime leads these chants, "death to America, death to Israel," that it pledges to wipe Israel off the map. But they think that this wild rhetoric is just bluster for domestic consumption. Have these people learned nothing from history? The last century has taught us that when a radical regime with global ambitions gets awesome power, sooner or later its appetite for aggression knows no bounds.

That's the central lesson of the 20th century. And we cannot forget it. The world may have forgotten this lesson. The Jewish people have not.

Iran's fanaticism is not bluster. It's real. The fanatic regime must never be allowed to arm itself with nuclear weapons. I know that the world is weary of war. We in Israel, we know all too well the cost of war. But history has taught us that to prevent war tomorrow, we must be firm today.

And this raises the question, can diplomacy stop this threat? Well, the only diplomatic solution that would work is one that fully dismantles Iran's nuclear weapons program and prevents it from having one in the future.

President Obama rightly said that Iran's conciliatory words must be matched by transparent, verifiable and meaningful action. And to be meaningful, a diplomatic solution would require Iran to do four things. First, cease all uranium enrichment. This is called for by several Security Council resolutions. Second, remove from Iran's territory the stockpiles of enriched uranium. Third, dismantle the infrastructure for nuclear breakout capability, including the underground facility at Qom and the advanced centrifuges in Natanz.
And, four, stop all work at the heavy water reactor in Iraq aimed at the production of plutonium. These steps would put an end to Iran's nuclear weapons program and eliminate its breakout capability.

There are those who would readily agreed to leave Iran with a residual capability to enrich uranium. I advise them to pay close attention to what Rouhani said in his speech to Iran's supreme cultural revolution — Supreme Cultural Revolutionary Council. This was published in 2005. I quote. This is what he said:

"A county that could enrich uranium to about 3.5 percent will also have the capability to enrich it to about 90 percent. Having fuel cycle capability virtually means that a country that possesses this capability is able to produce nuclear weapons." Precisely. This is why Iran's nuclear weapons program must be fully and verifiably dismantled. And this is why the pressure on Iran must continue.

So here is what the international community must do: First, keep up the sanctions. If Iran advances its nuclear weapons program during negotiations, strengthen the sanctions.

Second, don't agree to a partial deal. A partial deal would lift international sanctions that have taken years to put in place in exchange for cosmetic concessions that will take only weeks for Iran to reverse.

Third, lift the sanctions only when Iran fully dismantles its nuclear weapons program. My friends, the international community has Iran on the ropes. If you want to knock out Iran's nuclear weapons program peacefully, don't let up the pressure. Keep it up.

We all want to give diplomacy with Iran a chance to succeed, but when it comes to Iran, the greater the pressure, the greater the chance. Three decades ago, President Ronald Reagan famously advised, "trust but verify." When it comes to Iran's nuclear weapons program, here's my advice: Distrust, dismantle and verify.

Ladies and gentlemen, Israel will never acquiesce to nuclear arms in the hands of a rogue regime that repeatedly promises to wipe us off the map. Against such a threat, Israel will have no choice but to defend itself.

I want there to be no confusion on this point. Israel will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone. Yet, in standing alone, Israel will know that we will be defending many, many others.

The dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran and the emergence of other threats in our region have led many of our Arab neighbors to recognize, finally recognize, that Israel is not their enemy. And this affords us the opportunity to overcome the historic animosities and build new relationships, new friendships, new hopes.

Israel welcomes engagement with the wider Arab world. We hope that our common interests and common challenges will help us forge a more peaceful future. And Israel's—continues to seek an historic compromise with our Palestinian neighbors, one that ends our conflict once and for all. We want peace based on security and mutual recognition, in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes the Jewish state of Israel. I remain committed to achieving an historic reconciliation and building a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

Now, I have no illusions about how difficult this will be to achieve. Twenty years ago, the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians began. Six Israeli prime ministers, myself included, have not succeeded at achieving peace with the Palestinians. My predecessors were prepared to make painful concessions. So am I. But so far the Palestinian leaders haven't been prepared to offer the painful concessions they must make in order to end the conflict.

For peace to be achieved, the Palestinians must finally recognize the Jewish state, and Israel's security needs must be met.

I am prepared to make an historic compromise for genuine and enduring peace, but I will never compromise on the security of my people and of my country, the one and only Jewish state.

Ladies and gentlemen, one cold day in the late 19th century, my grandfather Nathan and his younger brother Judah were standing in a railway station in the heart of Europe. They were seen by a group of anti-Semitic hoodlums who ran towards them waving clubs, screaming "Death to the Jews."

My grandfather shouted to his younger brother to flee and save himself, and he then stood alone against the raging mob to slow it down. They beat him senseless, they left him for dead, and before he passed out, covered in his own blood, he said to himself "What a disgrace, what a disgrace. The descendants of the Maccabees lie in the mud powerless to defend themselves."

He promised himself then that if he lived, he would take his family to the Jewish homeland and help build a future for the Jewish people. I stand here today as Israel's prime minister because my grandfather kept that promise."

And so many other Israelis have a similar story, a parent or a grandparent who fled every conceivable oppression and came to Israel to start a new life in our ancient homeland. Together we've transformed a bludgeoned Jewish people, left for dead, into a vibrant, thriving nation, a defending itself with the courage of modern Maccabees, developing limitless possibilities for the future.

In our time the Biblical prophecies are being realized. As the prophet Amos said, they shall rebuild ruined cities and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and drink their wine. They shall till gardens and eat their fruit. And I will plant them upon their soil never to be uprooted again.

Ladies and gentlemen, the people of Israel have come home never to be uprooted again.

I wanted everyone to listen to his speech. It has a good deal having to do with the world today It also helps us do this: when we go through difficult times, we tend to only focus on ourselves. We need to understand difficult times are coming to the entire world—everywhere.

Since, as he brought out in his speech, the difficult times that the Jews have gone through—and they have through nearly every generation. That goes back to the promises of God. As we read in the Bible, they rejected God and forgot God that these things have come upon them. Yet, God loves all Israel and Judah with an everlasting love! Never forget that! These things that we go through are part of the correction that we rightly need because God—if any one thing in the Bible tells us, this:

• No one will mock God and get away with it!
• No one will tell God what to do!
• No one will tell God when to do something!

God will do what He's going to do because He is God!

The lesson that I want to bring out, I will let you go ahead and read in the book of Esther. I will summarize it this way. The leader of the Persian religion Agag—that goes back to Amalek, the son of Agag, an Agagite—have had a perpetual hatred for the Jews.

When the Jews were in captivity in the Persian Empire as a result of the invasion by Nebuchadnezzar, they also went into the Persian Empire. The story of Esther is quite amazing. Esther was one of the Jewish exiles. Because of the difficulties between the emperor and his wife and what she did, he banned her. He later selected Esther to be his wife.

Her uncle, Mordecai, found and discovered the plan of Haman[transcriber's correction] to kill all the Jews in the Persian Empire. He even got Ahasuerus, the emperor, to sign the order that it be done. God worked things out so that the king one night—have you ever had this, you woke up at night and you can't go to sleep so you get something to read—God caused that to be done. The king was reading the chronicles, like reading the paper stacked up in the corner. He found out that Mordecai stopped a conspiracy to kill him.

When he got up in the morning he asked his aide, 'What has been done to Mordecai?' Nothing! It turns out this way. God gave favor to Esther and to Mordecai. Esther revealed the plan of Haman the Agagite to kill all the Jews and had the order. Only the king can make a decree.

Haman already had the gallows built to hang Mordecai and hated him. What happened was, the queen asked the king and Haman to come for a special dinner. The king was all enthralled because of what Mordecai had done to keep him from being assassinated.

Here comes in Haman thinking he's really going to be honored. The king says, 'Haman, what should the king do to honor the one whom he wants to honor?' He thinks, 'Surely this is me.' Haman says, 'Put him on the king's horse and have someone lead it around and say, Everyone bow down. This is whom the king delights in.' The king said, 'That's a good idea, Haman. You're the one who is going to lead the horse. Mordecai is going to sit on it.' Haman went around, shouting very loudly, 'This is the one whom the king wants to honor.'

What happened? God intervened, stopped the slaughter of the Jews and the king, because of his behavior toward the king's wife Esther ordered that Haman the Agagite be hung on the gallows that Haman built for Mordecai.

We need to understand something very important. When God is involved and God's people are involved, even though He corrects them, no one is going to take upon himself to exterminate them. The same fate will happen to them as happened to Haman the Agagite when he tried to exterminate all the Jews.

Then what happened? When the day came that was supposed to be for killing all the Jews, they killed all their enemies! A lot of them repented and became Jews to save their skinny, little necks. God is not done dealing with the Jews. Not absolutely in the least.

Up until the time of the Feast and during the Feast, I wanted all of us to focus on the goal:

• why we were called
• where we are going
• what we are going to do to help rescue the world

We are going to enter into a terrible time as the whole world is in turmoil. That's what Jesus said it would be.

Mark 135: "'Be on guard lest anyone deceive you.'" As Netanyahu said, 'We have to always be vigilant.' We know that the enemy is not a man, it's Satan the devil. The way that Satan wants to deceive us is to come within our midst and change the doctrines. Beware when you hear the leaders of a church say, 'We are going to re-examine 21 doctrines.'

When you look back at the history of who they were 20 years before, they were the same ones that in another Church of God enacted all the doctrinal changes, which led to its demise, which was part of the correction of God. Now we know what has happened to that Church. We have discussed this. So, don't let anyone deceive you!

Verse 7: "But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled…" We are going to hear that over and over again. Stop and think about this for a minute. There is war and terrorism almost every place except in the Far East, in India and in Southeast Asia, as they are being built up by God for the purpose that we find in the book of Revelation.

We also see at the same time the prophecies diminishing the modern descendants of Israel today. We saw in the message that I gave concerning Syria, USA and Jerusalem, that the Jews sit alone, all alone! God says He's going to bring all nations around Jerusalem. We're seeing that happen a step at a time.

He says, v 7: "…but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be earthquakes in different places, and there shall be famines and disasters. These things are the beginning of sorrows'" (vs 7-8). [We see that—don't we?] …But keep yourselves on guard…" (vs 7-9). What did Netanyahu say? Always be vigilant! We need to be on guard for

• our personal growth in Christ
• the teachings and doctrines of the Church
• our personal conduct
• what we need to be doing to serve God

Verse 10: "And the Gospel must first be published among all nations." Isn't that going to be an overwhelming thing that God is doing, has already done up to a point, and is going to do to the over saturation point that will be absolutely unprecedented. Then they will deliver you up. That day is coming! Let the Holy Spirit lead you!

We are seeing this coming more and more, everywhere, not only to the Jews, but to Christians, v 13: "And you shall be hated by all men for My name's sake; but the one who endures to the end, that one shall be saved."

Then He says we are to look for a special thing to happen. Remember that there are too many out there saying, 'The Tribulation is going to start here. The end is going to be in 2017.' The Tribulation cannot begin until this one event takes place. Prior to that another significant event must take place, which Netanyahu talked about, the building of the temple. That single thing that will happen afterwards, and it means that the Tribulation is going to quick when that occurs.

Verse 14: "Now when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it should not stand…" I've explained this parenthetical statement that must have been inserted by John when he was canonizing the New Testament because of the circumstances that John was faced with.

1. he knew that the temple had already been destroyed in 70 A.D.
2. he knew that you could not have a Holy Place without a temple
3. he also was instructed by God in Rev. 11, the chapter to measure the temple

He did not understand what it would be, how it could be. So, he put the statement here: "…(let the one who reads understand)…" We understand in the end time when they build the temple, there will be the Holy Place and the man of sin, the son of perdition, is going to go there and sit down there as we have understood with 2-Thess. And proclaim himself to be God. That is the abomination that makes desolate!

Verse 19: "For in those days shall be great tribulation, such as has not been the like from the beginning of the creation that God created until this time, nor ever shall be again." It's all going to focus around Jerusalem and what's going to happen to the Jews and what's going to happen to the modern nations of Israel as well.

Track 2 or Download

Let's look at things that are happening in the USA. Right now we are in a so-called government shutdown because some people want to do the right thing. There are enough of them that they are despised, even within some of the political group they represent, the Republicans. There are those who want to go along with the enemies who are destroying this nation with the policies and plans they are bringing about upon us—namely the healthcare. And namely coming up very quickly now in 12 days the debt ceiling and we have a President who will not compromise.

So, here we are—deadlocked. What on earth is going to happen and why is it happening? At the same time we have had extreme weather conditions. Eastern Montana and North and South Dakota had 3-feet of snow. That shows an early winter. When did we keep the Feast of Tabernacles? Early, 19th of September!

Always remember this. The Calculated Hebrew Calendar is always right and any other calendar is following the teachings of men. That's why God gave it. Only God knows how the sun, moon and stars and the earth relate to each other and how to keep it as accurate as possible in spite of the astronomical things that have happened to the universe and the solar system and the earth.

What do we have? Down in Florida we have a tropical storm coming on. It looks like it's going to be a lot of flood and not a hurricane. California, there's a big high bringing in-land winds to Southern California and it's going to scorch it. How much has been burned since all of these intelligent, wonderful people have instituted same-sex marriage, not only here but in the other states!

Remember this, the hurricane season is not over yet. According to Joe Bastardi, who is one of the experts of truth in climatology—who says that global warming is a hoax—says that we are in the same pattern of hurricanes that they had in the late 1950s. Don't be too surprised if another huge storm comes up the East Coast. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

I want you to read all of Deut. 32 because that is a prophecy of Israel and their philanderings and their wanderings and their sins and how God still is going to deal with them. He calls Israel, at this point, Jeshurun.

Deuteronomy 32:31: "For their rock is not as our Rock…" That includes everything that is not according to the will of God. I got an e-mail and that said, 'Why do you always castigate the Protestants?' I'm going to give a sermon on that.

• They say they believe in Jesus
• They say they are for Jesus
• They say that they know the way to salvation
• They say the law has been abolished

and it hasn't

• God says to keep the Sabbath, they keep Sunday
• God says to keep the Holy Days, they keep Christmas, Easter, Halloween and all of that

Even now in the stores they've got everything going Halloween, but if you go to Costco they've got everything going Christmas already.

• They say they can ignore the laws of God

That makes them constantly living in sin while they profess the name of Jesus. Their rock, as well as the atheists and secularists and everything, is not the Rock of Christ.

"…even our enemies themselves being judges" (v 31). Didn't we just have Putin tell us something here recently. If you've been watching Church at Home, the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church says, 'May we never enact sodomy laws in Russia because it will destroy us.'

Verse 32: "For their vine is of the vine of Sodom and of the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are grapes of gall. Their clusters are bitter." That's what we are facing in this. It's manifested in the financial and political things. It's manifested in the religious things.

There was a time for 55 years in Judah where everything we have been experiencing incrementally also took place incrementally for 55 years during the reign of Manasseh. What I want you to do when we get done reading this, I would like you to take this little experiment at home with your television. If you've got satellite, great; if you've got cable, great; if you have 200 stations, fine—go through all of them and do an evaluation, especially of the regular ones—NBC, CBS, ABC, and the leading independent ones in your area—and see what kind of stupidity and soap operas that they have. Ask yourself:

• What is being taught?
• Who is watching it and absorbing it and believing it and emulating it?
• The people of America!

They didn't have television back there, but they knew how to commit evil. Here they have, much like our President, a man-child for a king. His name was Manasseh.

2-King 21:1: "Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign. And he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem…." Not like where we can we can vote the rascals out, like we have today. Too many people are not voting the rascals out, because they're rascals themselves.

Verse 2: "And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel."

Let me just tell you something concerning reading Jeremiah. I've been reading and recording that. When you read Jeremiah and Ezekiel, there is so much that God condemns them for. You think, that's hard reading. Think of this: Jeremiah's witness was for over 30 years, so you're getting 30 years condensed down into something like 35 chapters. He had to repeat it over and over again.

Don't forget this when you read through it, look at how many times God gave them a way out, but they refused. We'll examine one of those because we are faced with that right now. There is a way out of this dilemma and that is compromise. All you have to do is say, 'You're right.'

To show you how stupid people are, they went out and did a survey: Which do you think is the best, Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act? Oh, the Affordable Care Act. That's the same thing! It's like saying: What would you rather have—a Chevy or a Chevrolet? Those are called—as Rush Limbaugh says—the low-information voters. They don't pay any attention to anything and they operate strictly off emotion, not on facts. God wants us to operate on facts!

Verse 3: "For he built up again the high places which his father Hezekiah had destroyed…." Remember Hezekiah, he did a great work for God. He did a lot in helping canonize the Old Testament. But he got himself in trouble when he wanted to show off to the ambassadors all the riches and everything that God had given him. Isaiah came to him and said, 'The Lord asks who were these that came to see you?' They were ambassadors from afar, from Babylon. 'What did they see?' They saw everything. I held nothing back from them. Isaiah said, 'Thus says the Lord. Everything you showed them is going to Babylon.' That didn't have to be; same here with this situation with Manasseh.

"…And he erected altars for Baal and made a grove as Ahab king of Israel did. And he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD of which the LORD said, 'In Jerusalem I will put My name'" (vs 3-4).

As we go through this, I want you to think about similar parallels that we have experienced in the history of the church, very similar—correct? Maybe not quite as harsh; maybe not quite as extreme, but nevertheless, we have experienced it.

All of those who are in the Church of God that now erect a Christmas tree in their home, what do they have? They have a tree that commemorates the sin of Adam and Eve,the tree replica of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil! And with the serpent wound around it with all these beautiful adornments, that's Satan the devil. 'Oh, but it's so much fun and it smells so good.' God says it's an abomination!

Verse 5: "Then he built altars for all the host of the heavens in the two courts of the house of the LORD." Got to have freedom of religion—bring it all in. What is our Achilles heel today that we bring in? You can't deny the Muslims! You can't deny them Sharia Law. Guess what's going to happen?

Verse 6: "And he made his son pass through the fire… [He offered his sons to Moloch, burned them!] …and observed times and used witchcraft…." There's even a program about the medium from Long Island. People just flock to that and listen to that. Look at how many ghost programs there are: seeking ghosts, seeking haunted houses, seeking to talk to the dead. Look at all the sports, look at all the pleasures, look at all of those things. Add it all up. What does God think about that?

"…He worked much wickedness in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger. And he set a graven image of the grove which he had made in the house of which the LORD had said to David and to Solomon his son, 'In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever'" (vs 6-7). Amazing!

He said he wouldn't move His feet from there. They didn't do according to the Law of Moses (v 8).

Verse 9: "But they did not hearken. And Manasseh seduced them to do more evil… [Do we find that happening politically today? Lies and seduction? Yes indeed!] …than the nations ever did whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel. And the LORD spoke by His servants the prophets, saying, 'Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, doing more wickedly than all the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, therefore, thus says the LORD God of Israel, "Behold, I am bringing evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, so that whoever hears of it both his ears shall tingle"'" (vs 9-12).

There was a short revival. Is what we're looking at with the political thing and the shutting down of the government the foretaste of a short revival? Could be! This revival was done by Josiah when he heard what God was going to do he repented. Let's see what he did. They made a covenant, called everybody there, all the leaders and made them swear before God that they would obey God and do what is right. They did for about 12 years.

Notice what King Josiah did, 2-Kings 23:4: "And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels which were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven. And he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and carried the ashes of them to Bethel. And he removed the idol-worshiping priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places… [Who built all those high places? Solomon!] …in the cities of Judah, and in the places around Jerusalem. He also removed those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of the heavens" (vs 4-5).

Verse 6: "And he brought out the Asherah image from the house of the LORD outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it to powder, and threw the powder of it upon the graves of the children of the people." Who was Asherah? That's the female deity! We could say he took the statue of the virgin Mary and destroyed it.

Verse 7: "And he broke down the houses of the sodomites, which were by the house of the LORD…" All around the house of the Lord were little sodomite booths for religious sexual acts, because you must have a religion to sanctify your evil!

"…where the women wove coverings for the grove. And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah…" and had them withdraw from serving God" (vs 7-8).

Let's come to the book of Jeremiah. We're going to do a little survey here. We're going to see some important things. Some verses we've covered in the past, but repetition helps us learn even more.

God always gives repentance. As strange as it may seem, even though it's not accounted for here in 2-Kings, King Manasseh—when he was sent off in chains to Babylon by the Assyrians—repented and was brought back as a vassal king. Here Jeremiah starts his ministry, as we find in the first part of it, in the 13th year of Josiah.

• What did Jesus say when He came into Galilee?
• What did He offer?
• What did He command?

He said, 'Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.' God always offers repentance. We're going to see that. We're going to see something very, very important here as we go along.

Jeremiah 4:1: "'If you will return, O Israel,' says the LORD, 'Return to Me. And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, then you shall not be removed.'" All that happened to Israel and going into the Babylonian captivity did not have to happen. How strong are the choices that we have? I think we'll see very strong!

Verse 2: "And will swear, 'As the LORD lives,' in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; then the nations shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him they shall glory." They didn't do it even though He gave them an opportunity.

Because they have rebelled against God, He says, v 18: "Your way and your doings have brought these things upon you…" Every time a people suffer it's because of what they have brought upon themselves sinning against God! There's an opportunity right now politically and let's hope there would be spiritually because it's got to go to the pastors. If there's going to be any turnaround that's going to last at any length of time at all, there is going to have to be a revival of Protestantism to keeping the laws and commandments of God. That will have to happen.

But here there can be a slight political revival if just one thing would happen: delay Obamacare! This happens individually for our own choices. It can happen to a family. It can happen to a community. Look at the situation in Chicago with all those murders and all those gangs. They've narrowed it down to one thing: there is no father in the home! Why? Because the government in their great love for singer mothers have told them, 'We will support you, but there cannot be a man in the house.' One mother and her daughter and all of their children, it was reported that in the Chicago area, guess how much that they all combined received in a year because of all their illegitimate children? No fathers around. Would you believe $115,000? That's nearly $10,000 a month. Isn't that something? Being paid for sin! But look at the community.

Then you get the kids in school and you teach them nothing but sex so they don't want to learn how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. They don't want to learn what the language is; look what we have done.

Let's see what He says here, V 17: "…'Rebelled against Me,' says the LORD.'"

Verse 18: "…this is your evil, how bitter it is! How it pierces into your heart." Here's poor Jeremiah—you talk about a man who had a very lonely ministry. Everyone was against him.

Verse 19: "My bowels, my bowels! I writhe in pain. O walls of my heart! My heart is beating wildly within me; I cannot be silent because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the ram's horn, the alarm of war." He knew that was coming and it's going to be coming here.

Verse 20: "Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is laid waste…." You don't even need an army to do that. Have we had destruction? Fires burning, tornados destroying, hurricanes wiping things out? Yes, indeed! Drought, flood, yes indeed.

"…Suddenly my tents are laid waste, my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the banner of war and hear the sound of the ram's horn?.… [here's what God says]: …'For My people are foolish… [What is wisdom? Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom!] …they have not known Me… [Why haven't they known God? Because they don't teach from the Bible! They use it, but they don't teach it!] …they are stupid children…'" (vs 20-22). We're going to find out God calls just about everyone stupid.

"'…they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge'" (v 22). Everything comes apart from there.

Jeremiah 5:11: "'For the house of Israel and the house of Judah… [all 12 tribes] …have dealt very deceitfully against Me,' says the LORD." You just look at the religions they have, whether Protestantism or Catholicism or Judaism.

Verse 12: "They have lied against the LORD and said, 'It is not He; neither shall evil come on us; nor shall we see sword nor famine.'" You think people would have believed if you would have told them in advance that 9/11 was going to happen? After it happened how long did they remember it? Three weeks! That's quite something—isn't it?

Here's why. "'…nor shall we see sword nor famine.'" A lot of people would tell you that today. 'No, that can't happen. Look at all our grocery stores. We've got everything in the world coming in there. How do you say we're going to have famine?' How does it get there? By trucks! We've got lots of highways and trucks! Really? What would happen if they couldn't run or the highways were blocked? How much food do you have in storage? How long do you think you can last?

Here's the reason, v 13: "'And the prophets shall become as wind, for the word is not in them… [They have a religion. They use God, but they don't obey Him.] …thus it shall be done to them.' Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, 'Because you have spoken this word, behold, I will make My words in your mouth [Jeremiah] fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from afar, O house of Israel,' says the LORD. 'It is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor understand what they say'" (vs 13-15). We've talked about China before, yes indeed.

Verse 20: "Declare this in the house of Jacob, and cry it in Judah, saying, 'Now hear this, O foolish people…'" (vs 20-21). That gets a lot of people mad. They don't like to be called foolish and stupid. But are they wise? 'Oh, yeah, we're the smartest people in the world.' Take away your SmartPhone and how smart are you? You ever heard of 'digital dementia'? What's your home phone number?

"'…and without understanding; who have eyes and see not; who have ears and hear not. Do you not fear Me? says the LORD. 'Will you not tremble at My presence, even I Who have placed the sand for the boundary of the sea by a never-ending decree, so that it cannot pass it? And though they toss themselves, yet they cannot prevail; though its waves roar, yet they cannot pass over it'" (vs 21-22). Even with a tsunami it ends.

Verse 23: "'But this people has a revolting and a rebellious heart; they have revolted and are departed from Me. And they do not say in their heart, "Let us now fear the LORD our God, Who gives both the former and the latter rain in its season; He reserves to us the appointed weeks of the harvest." Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withheld good things from you. For among My people are found wicked ones; they lie in wait, as one who sets snares; they set a trap, they catch men'" (vs 23-26). Isn't that something! Look at all the deceit!

On your channel surfing watch a little bit of American Greed and see what those wonderful bankers have done, what different investors have done. Then think about this for a minute: For all the politicians doing whatever they can to try and stop what is coming, it's like holding your hand up to a tsunami and saying, 'Don't come, my hand is here.' What are you going to do with nearly $90-trillion in unfunded liabilities to say nothing of the $1.5-quadrillion worth of false derivatives. I'll let you ponder that for just a little bit.

Verse 27: "Like a cage full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and grown rich." I wonder why it talks about at the end-time a church that has grown rich and lukewarm and have become more interested in social connections, in too many cases, than loving and serving God.

Verse 28: "'They have become fat, they have become sleek. Yea, they excel in evil deeds; they do not plead the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and they do not defend the right of the needy. Shall I not punish for these things?' says the LORD. 'Shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this? An astounding and horrible thing has happened in the land'" (vs 28-30).

Here's the cause. There are political causes but it's a spiritual cause. Always remember this: you can never solve spiritual problems by political means or solutions! Here's the horrible and astounding thing,

Verse 31: "The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and My people love to have it so, and what will you do at the end of it?"

I saw just recently a picture of a church, a nice little church 40 years ago in this little town in the Midwest. How many have watched American Pickers on History Channel? They got a call from this fellow who had this church. No one had gone there for years because everybody had left the church. So here it is, full of all kinds of trinkets and toys and signs, knickknacks that people would want to buy. I thought to myself, isn't that amazing? Here's this church, recently full of people, mothers and fathers, wives and husbands, children and young people, old people. They taught them some of the ways of God, but now they teach them nothing. It is gone, nothing there at all.

Why do all these things happen? People want to know what is the cause of it? Just take the recent shootout in Washington, D.C. Here's this single mother. Where was the father? Where was the husband? Why wasn't she married? She gets all mentally upset. We're going to see more and more of that because there are many causes for it, which may not necessarily be demonic.

Dolores this morning saw a report of 'statin' drugs. Might want to talk to her about that because they are finding now when people take it for so long, so they can get their cholesterol down to around 100—the doctor who had this report said, 'You don't need to do anything about it until it reaches about 300.' Now they are finding mental instability and adult ADD (attention deficit disorder) and split personalities because they are taking care of their heart with a 'statin' drug.

Here is the reason, Jeremiah 9:13: "And the LORD says, 'Because they have forsaken My law… [Why should you keep it if you're told it's done away?] …which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, and have not walked in it.'"

What did Jesus say, the first thing in Matt. 4 with the temptation of Satan the devil? When He was told to change the stone into bread, He said, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'

here is what they have done, v 14: "But they have walked after the imagination of their own heart… [Every one. Do what's right in your eyes. If it seems good to you, do it. If it feels good, do it.] …and after the Baalim, which their fathers taught them.' Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and make them drink poisonous water" (vs 14-15).

Do we have poison in our water today, legally put there? Do you know what they are saying that they want to do to cut down on pregnancies in the colleges because there is so much sexual activity? They want to put in the drinking water sterilants to make the boys and the girls sterile, but have all the sex you want. What did they use to call that kind of education? They used to call it 'higher' education! Now it's lower.

Verse 16: "I will also scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them."

After talking about the Christmas tree; the first thing you get with Christmas is this. It's okay to lie, especially to your children, if it's fun and for a 'good' cause.

Jeremiah 10:14: "Every man… [and woman] …is stupid…" He says that over and over again. People don't like to be called stupid, but if you don't know the true God, what are you? You may be an educated elite fool, which means you're stupid! That may make some people mad as fire. 'I've got this education. I've got these degrees. Where did you go to school?' Especially if he is considered someone who has a southern accent or a Midwest twang. 'You're beneath me.'

Verse 14: "Every man is stupid for lack of knowledge; every refiner is put to shame by the graven image… [because it is stupid, it's dumb, it can't talk, walk or do anything] …for his molten image is a lie, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, the work of delusion; in the time of their judgment they shall perish. The Portion of Jacob is not like them; for He is the Maker of all things; and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; the LORD of hosts is His name" (vs 14-16).

God says because of that—because we are God's people—if we go against God as a nation, sooner or later we pollute it and make it so bad that He's got to do like He says here in v 18: "For thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will sling out the people of the land at this time, and will distress them, so that they may find Me.'"

Everything that is coming upon us is to cause us to ask: What on earth is happening? Have you ever sat there and listened to some of these politicians speak as they are doing interviews. You're watching the news and you say to yourself, 'They are stupid.' Yes, indeed, I have; you have. People are so confused with so many things that truth is counted as a lie. Jeremiah, after the Chaldeans had left, was going to go claim some land that he was going to purchase.

Jeremiah 37:13: "And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a commander of the guard named Irijah was there, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah. And he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 'You are falling away to the Chaldeans.' Then Jeremiah said, 'A lie! I am not falling away to the Chaldeans.' But he did not listen to him; so Irijah took Jeremiah and brought him to the rulers. And the rulers were angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison, the house of Jonathan the scribe. For they had made that the prison" (vs 13-15).

Verse 17: "And Zedekiah the king sent and took him out…." So, Zedekiah rescued him.

I want to show you something very interesting here in Jer. 38. The Chaldeans had left, but because they sinned against God He said He's going to bring them back. So here Zedekiah, the last king—let's read it:

Jeremiah 38:14: "And Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him, into the third gate in the house of the LORD. And the king said to Jeremiah, 'I will ask you a thing. Do not hide anything from me.' Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, 'If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not hearken to me.' Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying… [This is in the night, secretly.] … 'As the LORD lives, who made for us this soul, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.' Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel… [last chance] …"If you will surely surrender to the king of Babylon's princes, then your soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire. And you shall live, and your house"'" (vs 14-17). All you have to do is go out and surrender. They'll keep you as king here. You will live in your house; this city won't be burned.

Verse 18: "But if you will not surrender to the king of Babylon's princes, then this city shall be given into the hands of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape out of their hand."

I look at what we're looking at today, very similar to this. How can we avoid the great catastrophe that must come if they don't resolve the problem concerning the budget and the debt and the dollar collapses over night because someone was not willing to take some advice. I don't know how many have told Obama, 'You better back down.' But he's just like Zedekiah here. He was given a chance. Because Zedekiah didn't do what he should have done, did it affect all the people? Yes, indeed!. They all went into captivity and the city was burned.

Verse 18: "'But if you will not surrender to the king of Babylon's princes, then this city shall be given into the hands of the Chadeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape out of their hand.' And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, 'I am afraid of the Jews who have fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and lest they abuse me'" (vs 18-19). Not even willing to take any heat at all when the people were dying defending the city.

Verse 20: "But Jeremiah said, 'They shall not deliver you. I beseech you, obey the voice of the LORD which I speak to you; so it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live. But if you refuse to go out, this is the word that the LORD has shown me'" (vs 20-21). I think we can take this as a parallel and see what is going to happen.

Remember, the prophecies that we read in Deut. 28 and Lev. 26, 'I will break the pride of your power and you shall come down very low. And the stranger within you shall come up very high.' What is the scale on that right now?

Verse 22: "And, behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought out to the king of Babylon's rulers, and they shall say, 'Your trusted friends have misled you, and have prevailed against you. Your feet have sunk in the mire, and they have turned away.' And they shall bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans. And you shall not escape out of their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. And you shall cause this city to be burned with fire" (vs 22-23).

The lesson here is: How much damage can one man do because of stubborn pride? How many people must die because of stubborn pride? There are a few men and women trying to do what is right, trying to say, 'You can't do this,' and they are ridiculed, just like Jeremiah was ridiculed. So, we'll have to see what happens. Let's see what happened to Zedekiah:

Verse 24: "Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, 'Let no man know of these words, and you shall not die. But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say to you, "Declare to us now what you have said to the king; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death; also what the king said to you"'" (vs 24-25).

Here's what the king told Jeremiah to say, which he said. He kept the secret, v 26: "Then you shall say to them, 'I presented my petition before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there.' Then all the princes came to Jeremiah and asked him. And he told them according to all the words that the king commanded…." (vs 26-27).

He had time to think it over—did he not? He had time to act upon what Jeremiah told him secretly and to not let anyone know that he got this advice from Jeremiah. He could have gone out and surrendered to the Babylonians and the Chaldeans. It would have spared everything. So they didn't do anything to Jeremiah.

What happened? Jeremiah 39:2: "In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, a breach was made into the city…. [through the wall, they got there] …And all the rulers of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the Middle Gate; Nergal-Sharezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim, the chief of the officers, Nergal-Sharezer, chief soothsayer, and all the rest of the rulers of the king of Babylon. And it came to pass when Zedekiah, the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, then they fled, and went out from the city by night…" (vs 2-4). They tried to sneak away. He thought he could do it.

"…by the way of the king's garden, by the gate between the two walls. And he went toward the Arabah. But the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And they took him, and made him go up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon…" (vs 4-5). Jeremiah had told him he would see Nebuchadnezzar face-to-face. It happened.

"…to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment on him. Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes in Riblah. Also the king of Babylon killed all the princes of Judah. And he put out Zedekiah's eyes and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon" (vs 5-7).

We don't know how close these parallels will fit this situation today. But I think there are many, many principles involved with this that one man can hold hostage the whole nation and cause it's ruin, just like Zedekiah did, because he wouldn't listen to God or what was right and he chose his own arrogant stubbornness.

Here we are today. We will know. Monday is the 7th, and on the 17th of October the shutting down of the government and the $16.5-trillion debt limit will merge together. What will they do? We will know not too far down the road!

Scriptural References:

• Mark 13:5, 7-10, 13-14, 19
• Deuteronomy 32:31-32
• 2-Kings 21:1-7, 9-12
• 2-Kings 23:4-8
• Jeremiah 4:1-2, 18, 17, 18-22
• Jeremiah 5:11-15, 20-31
• Jeremiah 9:13-16
• Jeremiah 10:14-16, 18
• Jeremiah 37:13-15, 17
• Jeremiah 38:14-27
• Jeremiah 39:2-7

Scriptures references, not quoted:

• Revelation 11
• 2 Kings 21:8
• Matthew 4
• Deuteronomy 28
• Leviticus 26

Also referenced:

Sermon: Syria, USA, and Jerusalem

Speech to UN General Assembly by Benjamin Netanyahu, Oct. 1, 2013 (timesofisrael.com/full-text-netanyahus)

FRC:lp
Transcribed: 10-15-13
Formatted: bo—10-15-13

Copyright 2013—All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner. This includes electronic and mechanical photocopying or recording, as well as the use of information storage and retrieval systems.