October 24, 2004 

Tunisian Medics Say Arafat Suffering From Heavy Flu
AFP via Yahoo! News Sun, 24 Oct 2004 7:37 AM PDT
A team of Tunisian doctors who have examined Yasser Arafat believe he is suffering from an acute bout of influenza, sources close to the Palestinian leader said.

PA Official: Kerry Is Lesser Evil
Jerusalem Post Sun, 24 Oct 2004 9:05 AM PDT
The Palestinian Authority would like to see Sen. John Kerry as the next President of the United States, a senior Palestinian official said Saturday.

Israel Cabinet OKs Settlers' Compensation
AP via Yahoo! News Sun, 24 Oct 2004 7:33 AM PDT
The Israeli Cabinet approved guidelines Sunday to compensate settlers uprooted by Ariel Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan, giving the prime minister a welcome boost ahead of a parliamentary showdown this week.

On the Road To Civil War
Arabic Media Internet Network Sun, 24 Oct 2004 8:45 AM PDT
Everybody in Israel is talking about the Next War. The most popular TV channel is running a whole series about it. Not another war with the Arabs. Not the nuclear threat from Iran. Not the ongoing bloody confrontation with the Palestinians.

Earthquakes Kill 21, Injure 2,000 In Japan ...
OJIYA, Japan (AP) - Tens of thousands of Japanese huddled in emergency shelters Sunday after a series of earthquakes in northern Japan flattened homes, toppled bridges and derailed trains, killing at least 21 people and injuring as many as 2,000. Eight people were believed missing.

A 6.8-magnitude quake rocked the largely rural Niigata prefecture Saturday evening, rattling buildings as far away as the Japanese capital. Several strong quakes followed through the night, and aftershocks continued to jolt the area Sunday.

Many of the foreign leaders who supported the U.S.-led invasion in Iraq (news - web sites), such as Italy's Silvio Berlusconi and Japan's Junichiro Koizumi, want President Bush (news - web sites) re-elected on Nov. 2 to avoid being left isolated over the war.

Comments

A word about the election.  America is in a bigger fight than unemployment and we'd better wake up see our future for what it really is. Economic woes will come and go as they always have but we may only have one chance to keep America out of nuclear harms way. 

A word about a possible civil war in Israel.  Don't count on it.  God didn't rebirth this nation to have it torn a part by political infighting.  Man didn't create this nation and man will not destroy it.

Yasser Arafat is said to only have a bad case of the flu, but he's not getting any younger no matter where his health may stand.  I can't see him playing much of a role outside of figurehead in the future of the Middle East.

A word about earthquakes.  One of my readers emailed me the other day with some recent world earthquake data.  Including today's earthquake in Japan there have been 79 earthquakes since October 17th.  Most have been measured around the four to five range in magnitude and have been located all over the world.  If you're interested take a look at Large/Noteworthy Earthquakes in 2004.  I have to say that we might be experiencing the beginning stages of this prophecy coming true.

Death Toll And Surviving The Tribulation Period

If you are reading this, and do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior, I hope this will be a tool that the Lord uses to open up your eyes to your need for Him. Your future and eternity could depend on what you decide at this very moment. Don’t let this opportunity to know Christ pass you by. It may be your last!

I have always questioned if there are specific procedures that one could follow that would enable them to survive the tribulation period. I truly believe that it will be by the grace of God that anyone survives. Let me put this time period in perspective. The tribulation period will be so devastating and so horrible that Jesus said, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: But for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Matthew 24:22).” We’re talking about five billion people dying with no survivor’s period! But in the latter days of the tribulation period I believe God will shorten the length of a day by eight hours. A twenty-four hour day will become a sixteen-hour day thus preserving some life.

What are the chances of surviving the tribulation period? Nobody knows for sure, but we do know that one-quarter of the world’s population will be eliminated (Revelation 6:7, 8) when the fourth seal is broken and another one-third will die when the sixth trumpet sounds (Revelation 9:13-19). That doesn’t even include the complete destruction of Mystery Babylon, the worldwide earthquake, the complete annihilation of the Russian Alliance, The Battle of Armageddon, and so on. If there are survivors, a person’s chances of being in that number are very slim.

Let’s say five billion people enter into the tribulation period. It has been estimated that as many as four billion people will die leaving one billion survivors. Following the seven-year tribulation the Lord will rule with a “rod of iron” and execute judgment on the nations to determine who will enter into the millennium. The criterion is simple. Those who befriended Israel during the tribulation period will be allowed to enter into the Millennium age. Those who didn’t will be executed without mercy. In some cases, entire nations could be wiped out.

When all is said and done only a fraction of the world’s population will be left. I will be conservative and estimate that 500 million will be allowed to enter the millennium age. Frankly, I think that number is high, but nevertheless, that means a person who enters the tribulation period has a one in ten chance of survival. Oh, and by the way, that number includes only those who did not take the mark of the beast. Almost everyone will and in the end, they will be executed.

Dear friend, if you don’t know the Lord at this time you’re making the biggest mistake of your life. Jesus came and paid your sin debt on Calvary that you might have renewed fellowship with God. Don’t let satan deceive you into letting this opportunity to know the Lord pass you by. For the hour is approaching and He will not tarry. Please come to the Lord today! Jesus could come tonight and you could be left behind.

Pastor Malone