The signs clearly say, as so many rabbis and experts have confirmed, that we are living in prophetic times preceding the Messiah.

2018 saw a host of “End of Days” events and predictions actualized. In January, snow fell on the Sahara—the world’s hottest desert—paralleling prophecies of Isaiah. In May, President Trump moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, many likening the American leader to Cyrus, the Persian king who ended the Babylonian exile and paved the way for the second temple in Jerusalem. In September, an entirely red female calf was born (which later died, though there are two more candidates that will be checked in the coming week), the prophesied tenth and final of its kind before the Messiah, enabling Israel to become ritually pure and reinstate the temple service. In November, nations gathered in Israel for an interfaith conference about the Temple Mount. Throughout the year, Jerusalem saw a spike in inbound-tourism, breaking all-time records of tourists, many Christian. We call it tourism, but prophets talked about it as biblical prophecy.

Indeed, many extraordinary events signal the miraculous times in which we are living. Breaking Israel News looks back on these prophetic moments and suggests five further prophecies that could be fulfilled in 2019.

5 Biblical Prophecies Fulfilled in 2018

High-Speed Train Opens in Prophesied Development of Jerusalem

“[The Lord] says: Build up, build up a highway! Clear a road! Remove all obstacles From the road of My people!” (Isa. 57:14, The Israel Bible).

In September, 2018, Yisrael Katz, Israel’s transportation minister, announced the opening of the first stages of the new high-speed train to Jerusalem, saying, “we are connecting and strengthening our capital city of Jerusalem, and we are connecting to Jerusalem’s history.” One of its stops will bring people to the Western Wall from different locations of Jerusalem’s capital. These developments in Jerusalem were prophesied by Isaiah, and this was surely a point of major fulfillment in 2018 as well as continued fulfillment into 2019. Additionally, such infrastructure improvements, including the new Ramon airport that is set to open in early 2019, will pave the way for future pilgrimages to Jerusalem during the annual feasts.

2. War of Gog and Magog in Iranian-Backed Syria

I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws, and lead you out with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all of them clothed in splendor, a vast assembly, all of them with bucklers and shields, wielding swords. Among them shall be Persia, Nubia, and Put, everyone with shield and helmet (Ezek. 38:4-5).

Iran, with its modern-day incarnation of biblical Persia, is explicitly identified by the prophet Ezekiel as an end-of-days foe of Israel. In early 2018, Israel and Iran made direct military contact for the first time over Israeli airspace, an escalation of conflict in an already volatile region that brings the armies of various nations in close proximity to one another. Rabbis and experts, including Rabbi Pinchas Winston and Rabbi Yosef Berger, equated this confrontation to the prophesied war of Gog and Magog—the second part of a two-stage process for the returning of the divine presence to Israel—beginning in the north (with Russia, perhaps) and Iran.

As leaders wonder what to do about Iran’s nuclear program (as well as Iranian support of Israel’s terror-sponsoring neighbors of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon), rabbinic authorities look to prophecy to find clear answers for a developing situation that Winston describes as “about to get biblical.” In addition to its nuclear program that promises to wipe Israel off the map, Iran has already established military bases in war-torn Syria, where a civil war has resulted in approximately 600,000 killings, more than 5.6 million fleeing and 6 million displaced internally.

3. Increasing Control Over Temple Mount and End of Ishmael’s Reign

“These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; then he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his kin” (Gen. 25:18).

The year 2018 began with a lunar eclipse signaling “a harsh period for B’nei Ishmael (sons of Ishmael, i.e., the Arab nations), which is necessary for the beginning of Moshiach (Messiah),” Rabbi Berger, the rabbi of King David’s Tomb on Mount Zion, told Breaking Israel News. In Genesis, it is told that when Ishmael falls, it will be the end of days, and the Son of David (the Messiah) will flourish and the Temple Mount will change from its current state into its prophetic role as a “house of prayer for all nations.” When one views the struggle over Temple Mount sovereignty as a zero-sum game between B’nei Ishmael and B’nei Yitzhak, one could conclude that this year’s increase of Jewish presence on the Temple Mount signals the end of Ishmael’s reign. Indeed, in 2018, more Jews ascended the Temple Mount than ever before since the Jewish Temple stood, with 28,500 Jews ascending in the last Jewish calendar year. As this occurs, we have seen various strange phenomena on the Temple Mount—perhaps signaling the prophesied shift that will occur in Jerusalem pre-Messiah—such as an eerie mist, sinkholes and snakes.

4. Tikkun of Esau: U.S. Embassy Opens in Jerusalem

“Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; let what you have remain yours”” (Gen. 33:9).

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem opened on May 14, 2018, after U.S. President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in late 2017. Rabbi Mendel Kessin, a rabbi who interprets modern events from a Torah perspective, maintained that this decision is bringing the world closer to the Messiah, calling it the “Tikkun (fixing) of Esau,” describing how Esau (embodied in part by Donald Trump’s paradigm shift) will be restored by helping Israel. Others have paralleled Donald Trump to Cyrus, the Persian king who ended the Babylonian exile and paved the way for the second temple in Jerusalem, even minting a Trump/Cyrus replica of the silver half-shekel biblically mandated to be donated in the temple.

5. Global Reaction of the Embassy Opening: Prophetic Esau and Ishmael Alliance Facilitated by Erev Rav

So Esau went unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives that he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Avraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife (Gen. 28:9).

Just as soon as U.S. President Trump moved the Embassy in 2018, Israel became the focus of condemnation on various fronts. The Arab world, Western media and even Christian leaders opposed the move. While unfortunate, this reaction is viewed as an essential step in the process of the Messiah according to prolific end-of-days author and educator Rabbi Pinchas Winston. In the end of days, those who are at war will come together as described by the Vilna Gaon (leading rabbi of the 18th century Elijah ben Solomon Zalman), namely, the Catholic Church and Ishmael (the Arab world), both of whom forged an alliance, despite their differences, to condemn Israel. Rabbi Winston explained that this unlikely union consisting of two opposing forces (known in the Bible as Esau and Ishmael) will be facilitated by the erev rav (mixed multitude), largely consisting of liberal, left-wing Jews. This is exactly what we witnessed in 2018, another prophecy fulfilled as rabbis maintain that the Messianic era is upon us. {eoa}

Breaking Israel News offers a fresh and biblical perspective on the latest news from Israel and the Middle East. Our bias is not liberal nor conservative—just biblical.

This article originally appeared at .

Did I ever tell you about the Judean hills my husband and I saw outside of Jerusalem? They came with real live Bedouins leading sheep.

“See those circles?” our guide said. Yes, we had noticed the spirals going around each hill and had wondered about the unique geology. “Those are paths that have been worn over the years by shepherds leading their sheep. When you read Psalm 23:3 and hear David say that God leads him in paths of righteousness, in the Hebrew, it really says in ‘circles’ of righteousness. The shepherds don’t lead the sheep straight up the hillside; they slowly wind them around and around and up.”

We marveled at this.

Continuous circles on flat trails, with a very slow, almost imperceptible climb toward the top. This is how God leads His people toward all that is right and good.

Turn your calendar to the new year, and what do you anticipate? I’ve been struggling with fear, to be honest. All of the “what ifs” have been slamming me in the middle of the night, but as I’ve called out to the Lord, He has been teaching me and leading me out of fear and into wonderful new thoughts of hope, enjoyment of His presence and anticipation of goodness for the year.

This year is going to be a climb, but the Lord will carefully lead us up, up, up.

Two resources are helping me right now, and I want to recommend them to you. The first is Dallas Willard’s book, Life Without Lack: Living in the Fullness of Psalm 23. I never even got past the title before I was encouraged and intrigued about what this year could be like if I were to believe Psalm 23.

The second resource is a new discovery, found at . They’ve made an incredible journal and record-keeping book called Growth Book: The Roadmap and Footprint of Your Spiritual Journal. When you invest in something like this, you’re saying to the Lord, “I’m going to seek You with all my heart this year. I expect You to do good things in my life. I expect You to walk with me and talk to me and guide me through every day. I expect the abundant life, and I’m going to document it as it unfolds.”

What we need to do is to supercharge our belief on the front end of a new year.

Yes, we believe we have a good Shepherd.

Yes, we believe He will circle us around to righteousness.

Yes, we believe He will be with us, watching out for us all along the way.

Time to get our minds going in the right direction by reading and memorizing and studying God’s Word. We are going somewhere good. {eoa}

This article originally appeared at .

Research done at the University of Scranton suggests that just 8 percent of people achieve their New Year’s goals. I choose to do something much more effective than a New Year’s resolution.

For many years, on Jan. 1, my practice has been to simply journal and ask the Lord what He wants me to focus on and master over the coming year. He tells me, and I focus on it, letting His Spirit guide and empower me as I master the area in the following months. Since I am a teacher with a passion to pass on to others practical steps to achieve spiritual realities, a how-to book will usually be the result of the year’s growth.

4 Keys to Making New Year’s Resolutions Successful

1. It is the Lord who gives the topic to explore for the year, not myself. He says, “My rhemas are spirit and life; the flesh accomplishes nothing” (John 6:63). This helps us understand why a New Year’s resolution made in the flesh will fail.
2. I stay tuned to the flow of the Holy Spirit as I pursue mastery in the area (John 5:30; 7:37-39). This allows me to receive words of wisdom and words of knowledge which focus my activities.
3. I have challenges, not problems. I refuse problems, which are effort coupled with negative thinking which says, “This problem blocks me so I cannot succeed.” Instead I have challenges that have only one possible result: They are overcome. In Christ, this battle is already won (1 Cor. 15:57). This victory is assured!
4. I speak life over myself. God’s rhema is spoken as my present tense, current reality (Mark 11:22-24). I am not trying to become something. By His stripes I am healed (Isa. 53:5). God has given me to power to create wealth (Deut. 8:18).

Some Examples of Covenant Promises Being Realized

God’s covenant blessings touch every area of our lives (Deut. 28:1-14). Here is a listing of 12 divine exchanges Jesus provided for all of us. Review the list and see if He gives you a focus of one of these 12 for the next year. Tune to flow and journal out what He is speaking to you.

Health: I just finished two years of focus on maximizing my health, and once again I am experiencing wonderfully improved health.

Finances: During the last two months, God has led my son and me to a couple of conferences which have re-awakened in us the dream He gave us over 30 years ago to achieve personal financial abundance through two different activities.

Sticking with it: We stay with a challenge until mastery is achieved. Normally it is 12 months. We stay with it until we are living the reality. A truth is mine when I am walking in it. That is when I know the truth. If it takes two years, that is fine. No need to rush. Head knowledge is not knowing truth. Knowing truth is a transformed life that is manifesting His Kingdom promises.

Edison did 6000 experiments with the light bulb before perfecting it. He won! I choose to also win. I am not going to try three things, and say, “It doesn’t work for me.” I am pressing in until I have the victory.

I will seek out counsel from proven trainers who are living in victory in the area I am pursuing. They must be living models of the lifestyle and able to teach the necessary steps to achieving that lifestyle. If they are not living it, they cannot teach me how to live it.

I also invest in the best tools available to speed me along the way. I am willing to spend money for both great coaches and great tools. It is an investment into the victory that lies before me.

I live daily tuned to flow, honoring the counsel and guidance of God through my nightly dreams and my daily journaling. I know that whatever I go to sleep meditating on, my heart will work on all night, providing wise solutions through my dreams and my journaling the following morning when I awaken. So I purpose to fill my mind at the close of the day with ideas and questions concerning the issue I am seeking wisdom and mastery on. I often will awaken in the middle of the night with revelation. I get up and record it on my computer so I can explore it later in greater depth. Nighttime dreams and morning journaling are wonderful times of revelation helping me master an area God has placed before me. This makes my morning devotional exciting, life-giving, constantly changing encounters with the Lord. Journaling about health or finances is as spiritual as journaling through a book of the Bible.

One of the ways Edison tapped into the creativity of his heart was to hold marbles in his hand as he rested and meditated. As he drifted off into a nap, the marbles would fall from his hands, and he would awaken with new insights which he would try out.

I love tapping into God’s creative flow from my heart. Through it, I access words of knowledge and words of wisdom which spur me on to success. You can do this, too. Keep it easy. Put a smile on your face so you don’t start grunting and disrupting His creative flow within you.

Let the church be the most creative entity in the world, as we release the creativity of God which solves mankind’s problems and serves them effectively. {eoa}

Mark Virkler, Ph.D., has authored more than 50 books in the areas of hearing God’s voice and spiritual growth. He is the founder of Communion With God Ministries and Christian Leadership University (), where the voice of God is at the center of every learning experience. Mark has taught on developing intimacy with God and spiritual healing for 30-plus years on six continents. The message has been translated into over 40 languages, and he has helped to establish more than 250 church-centered Bible schools around the world.

This article originally appeared at .

Conservatives may have experienced a loss in 2018 House midterm races, but victory is a significant and powerful reality when it comes to the nation’s courts.

Because Republicans increased control of the Senate, appointments of conservative jurists will continue in 2019, says Stephen E. Strang, a best-selling author who released his newest book, Trump Aftershock, on Election Day.

Strang says the country’s judiciary is of utmost importance to evangelical voters, and the knowledge and assurance that President Donald Trump is succeeding in this realm—and can continue to do so—is crucial.

“This was one of the promises evangelicals were counting on President Trump to keep—and he has,” Strang said. “Smart Christian voters knew that how Trump worked the judicial system during his time in office would have implications for generations to come. Evangelicals have watched without recourse as their customs and religious beliefs have come under assault by the education establishment, the media and, most damaging, the federal courts. Supreme Court rulings in the 1960s stripped prayer and Bible reading from the public schools. There were no riots, no marches. Instead, believers stood by in silence, fearing there was nothing they could do. But that was only the beginning.

“Today Christian bakers, florists and wedding planners, along with restaurant, hotel and resort owners, are under the constant threat of losing their livelihood, their homes and their freedom for simply abiding by the time-honored principles of their faith,” Strang added. “Evangelicals want to make sure these things never happen again, at least while they can do something about it. And this is a major reason why many evangelicals continue to support President Trump. The midterm election may have been a loss in some respects, but it was a huge win for America’s court system in the minds of the faithful.”

Trump Aftershock explores the “president’s seismic impact on culture and faith in America” and uncovers unreported facts while objectively helping readers understand what the nation’s most unlikely and unconventional president has accomplished.

John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

The Greek word for “word” (which identifies Jesus in this passage) is the word logos.

The logos (a concept borrowed from Greek philosophy depicting the meta-idea over creation) is God’s wisdom, truth, rationality, message and reality.

Consequently, the logos in John 1 depicts the fact that Jesus is the beginning and ground of all reality and wisdom, indeed, the beginning and origin of all truth, the precondition for all knowledge and rationality. This is why Jesus said of Himself “I am … the truth” (John 14:6b). This is also why Paul the apostle said that in Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (see Col. 2:3).

Applying the Logos to Ourselves and the Church

John 1:4 states about Jesus, “In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind.” In other words, the logos is the only illumination in the midst of shadow that reveals the cure for the maladies and chaos in the world of humanity. Only the logos can bring order out of chaos!

Therefore, to the extent that you are grounded in Jesus as your logos—to that extent will you walk in reality and dispel the darkness and chaos in your life. Also, to the extent that the church follows Jesus, to that extent will we be a witness of the light of God to our surrounding community.

Since the Fall

Ephesians 4:17-18 teaches us that because of original sin, our hearts and minds have been darkened, which compromises our ability to discern truth: “Therefore this I say and testify in the Lord, that from now on you walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their minds, having their understanding darkened, excluded from the life of God through the ignorance that is within them, due to the hardness of their hearts.”

Consequently, in this fallen state, we cannot fully discern the difference between reality and deception, between right and wrong, between darkness and light, and between Satan and God. Furthermore, Exodus 20: 3,4 teaches us that sin is passed down from one generation to the next; hence, sin is inherited and, as part of our nature, becomes a genetic, generational malady in our lives.

The result of all this is that are walking around with ghosts in and around us/which are the invisible people who shaped us from our past (including ancestors long dead) who have affected us for good or evil—as well as the subconscious shadows looming inside us that cause us to misfire and leave the path of righteousness (chances are you are replicating the habit patterns of your ancestors because sin becomes systemic and solidifies itself in our minds and genetic codes).

The solution: when we are born again, we inherit a Christ nature inside us that makes us a new creation not bound by the sins and ghosts of the past. 2 Peter 1:4 says “by which He has given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, so that through these things you might become partakers of the divine nature and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

Which is why Jesus said, “If you remain in My word [logos], then you are truly My disciples” (John 8;31), and “If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). Furthermore, Scripture teaches us that Jesus created a new species of humanity—one new man who is in Christ “if any man is in Christ he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Look, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).

Part of the Good News of the gospel is that the post-ascension Christ has inaugurated His kingdom—a new world order of peace—that we as the body of Christ are called to walk in as a prophetic sign to the world at large of the age to come, in which the created order will be restored back to its original design (see Acts 3:21).

Give God Opportunity to Transform You

In light of the above, Scripture commands us to have our minds renewed so we can discern the will of God for our life (see Rom. 12:1,2). This renewal positively alters our interpretive lens of life by grounding us in divine reality, which is daily activated by putting off the old man and putting on the new man.

Ephesians 4:23-24 says “put off the former way of life in the old nature, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that you put on the new nature, which was created according to God in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph. 4:22-24). Hence, this new creation in Christ restores believers back to the image of God.

At the end of the day, being Christlike is our highest calling and involves a process of spiritual formation that is triggered by granting God space in our life by practicing the spiritual disciplines of Scripture: meditation, fasting, prayer, sitting under Biblical teaching, corporate prayer, godly fellowship, friendship, along with the regular contemplative practice of silence and solitude.

This new year, make it your goal to become Christlike!

Romans 8:29 says “For or those whom He foreknew, He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

Any goal less than Christlikeness is substandard and ineffectual in the kingdom of God.

May this new year become the year we are changed from glory to glory by the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18).

Each new year brings a renewed desire to start again. Would you agree? And in the process, we want to leave the old behind, look for a change and hope for the best to show up.

Does that ever happen? Sometimes. But often we don’t get what we want. To avoid disappointment, I invite you to try a different approach. How about:

• Instead of looking for healing, we praise God for what He has already healed.

• Instead of longing for a new relationship, we revive our relationship with Christ first.

• Instead of looking for financial freedom, we rejoice in the provision of Him who owns it all.

• Rather than looking to fill what we lack, we look around to what we already have.

• Instead of wishing someone would change, we begin a change in us.

• Instead of staying up worrying at night, we declare victory at the start of each day.

• Instead of anguishing the past, we anticipate a new tomorrow.

• And finally, instead of making New Year’s resolutions, we resolve to seek God first.

I join you in praising God for what He has done in Your life. For the moments you thought you were alone, but He was holding you in His hands. For the times you thought sorrow would never end, but you began to trust. And for the uncertainty that threatened to worry you, but you embraced the certainty of His delicious love.

I won’t wish you a Happy New Year, as happiness changes. Instead, I pray for joy that fills your days and reassurance to fill your nights. {eoa}

Janet Perez Eckles is an international speaker and the author of four books. She has helped thousands conquer fear and bring back joy.

This article originally appeared at .

A few days ago, it was the first chilly morning of the season. The welcomed cool made a peaceful early morning in our house. All was well.

I was propped up, perusing the headlines to see if anything had blown up in the night since I had last checked. Linda, however, was setting the better example.

Seated on the small couch in the corner of the kitchen, she had two different devotional books open to her right, while breaking in a new Bible on her lap.

As always, a pencil and highlighter pens were at close reach. Along with the steaming French Market coffee in her favorite flowery mug on the small table to the left, this was her morning happy place.

This special spot is next to four tall outside windows, bringing a great view of the morning breakfast routine of some frolicking squirrels, one skittish rabbit and a host of blue jays, sparrows and red birds that live nearby. Somebody keeps leaving treats in the yard, and the gang regularly shows up for the buffet.

Truly, an “ease into the day” moment.

Then, in the morning solitude, bam!

Although in separate rooms, the loud thud made both of us jump.

We had heard that sound a few times before, and knew what it was.

One of the birds, thinking it was moving in fast to meet up with a friend, crashed straight into one of the big windows.

My first thought was not happy. Over the last few years, we have had to replace three of those windows. They aren’t cheap.

Linda checked the area of the crash and reported no window cracks, just a small splotch of feathers left on the glass. Most of the time the birds shake it off, and walk away rubbing their heads before groggily flying off.

But later, as she walked out to clean the window, we realized this one had not walked away. We were sad as we both looked down.

As I placed our lifeless feathered friend in the deep growth area behind the house, I lightly mumbled the proper words for the moment, “The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away.”

Then I casually blurted, “You know, the Lord knew that red bird! He knew its name. He knows the whole family.” I got a sweet “Amen” from my wife, who then said, “Well, that’s what the Word says, and we believe the Word!”

Throughout that day, the thought of that bird came back periodically. I knew it was just a bird. I had more important things to do. Why was it coming back to my mind?

Then, in an inner thud, I heard, “It’s not about the bird. It’s about you. It’s about the Word.”

Matthew 10 tells the story as He put the band together. The chapter starts by saying, “[Jesus] called His twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease” (v. 1).

Well, that sounds like fun.

Then, He goes on to “read the fine print” as to what to expect in the days ahead.

Some days will be exhilarating, some days discouraging. Some people will accept them; others will want to run them out of town. They will have betrayal in their future. They will be threatened. Some will see the inside of a jail.

Verses 19 and 20 gives the bad news/good news moment, “But when they deliver you up, take no thought of how or what you will speak. For it will be given you at that time what you will speak. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks through you.”

Knowing they might likely get discouraged in the rough days ahead, He continues to speak faith to them (verses 28-31). “Do not fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28).

Then, in a majestic revelation perspective, He takes a most minute part of creation to describe the depth of His loving concern that wraps all the way around us.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore do not fear. You are more valuable than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29-31).

To us, that morning, this simple illustration came to encourage us with a new emphasis on our well-known memory verse.

If He knew that red bird, He knows us. He sees us. He keeps us. He holds us. He’s there.

So, in your dark, discouraging times. When you don’t know what to say, the Holy Spirit will give you the words. When you’re misunderstood or feel forgotten, you’re not alone. He’s always watching. He told us so.

“Well, that’s what the Word says, and we believe the Word!” {eoa}

Michael Green is pastor with his wife, Linda, at The LifeGate () in Metairie and Mandeville, Louisiana. He is also a speaker, singer, producer and writer. Find him on Twitter (@MichaelGreen77).