Genesis Part 11: Jacob and Rachel, The Twelve tribes of Israel

 Hi, and thank you for joining me at 144Judah! Today's blog is the continuation of the story of Issac's child, "Jacob". From our last blog on Genesis, which was a while back, we learned of Jacob and his dream of the ladder. (Jacob's ladder) Today, we turn the page and start at Genesis 29 in the KJV where Jacob is on a journey and meets his uncle Laban, his mother's brother, and his two daughters Leah and Rachel. 

His uncle puts him to work and agrees to pay him by giving him one of his daughters. He chooses Rachel and works seven years. 

"And Jacob served seven years for Rachel: and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her." Genesis 29:20

Now, seven years later, Jacob goes up to Laban, and asks for his wife... "And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her."  (A little graphic for a son-n-law to a father...but ok)

So, Laban gathers everyone up for a feast, and later that evening he brings his daughter, Leah, the first born daughter, and Jacob goes into her.... 

WAIT, WHAT?!

So, in the morning, Jacob notices what had happened... and goes to Laban, "What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?" (Genesis 29:25)

And Laban answers with this, "It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn."  Genesis 29:26

WOAH... now this is total deception. Not only did Jacob serve for seven years for his wife, but then he was deceived knowingly. Although, since I didn't read the bible at the time, I have known a lot of these customs as I have read Jane Austen. lol)

What is even sicker is this next sentence... "Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years."

And guess what?  He did. So, after he fulfilled this week, he gave him his other daughter Rachel to also be his wife. And Also Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. 

No wonder we got to this point in life where evil just runs rapid. I can't imagine my dad doing that to me. 

Genesis 29:30- "And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years." 

"And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.

And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. 

And she conceived again and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.

And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing." Genesis 29:31-35

So... wow... God did bless this woman with four sons. Now, if you remember from previous blogs, The Twelve Tribes make up the End Time Saints with 12,000 coming out of each tribe. This also makes up the true ISRAEL that will be gathered by God in the End of Days to Jerusalem to fight at the Gog and Magog battle - Armageddon. 

So, we have the first four sons and this woman is now done because with her last son, JUDAH, she praised God The Most High. When she lifted up in Glory she did something super important! She gave praise and out of this line of people will be born David, and down a little further....YESHUA! (JESUS)

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah.... 4 names, 4 meanings

Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction, because the LORD hath heard I was hated, and my husband will be joined unto me, and now I will praise the LORD.

Genesis 30 - "And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? 

And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.

And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. 

And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. 

And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan. 

(Wow...this is super telling for later!)

And Billah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. 

And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

Now we have Dan and Naphtali.... For God hath Judged me, and I have prevailed.

When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife. 

(This is insane)

And Zilpah Leah's maid barer Jacob a son. 

And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad. 

And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son. 

And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

Gad and Asher...A troop cometh, for the daughters will call me blessed. 

So now it gets a bit weird, if that were even possible...

So, now we see Reuben, Leah's firstborn, and he is picking up some mandrakes in a field, and he brings them to his mother. Well, Rachel sees this, and wants the mandrakes, and Leah is like, hey, isn't it enough that you already sleep with my husband and now you want these plants, too? (And I tend to agree on this one...it is rather messed up.) Anyway, Rachel says, hey if you give me the mandrakes, you can have the hubby for the night.

Hmm.

She says, okay, gives her the mandrakes, and shacks up with Jacob... and guess what happens?

You've guessed it...a fifth son. 

Genesis 30: 17-21 "And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.

And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.

And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son. And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun. 

And afterwards she bare a daughter and called her name Dinah. (Dinah's name means Justified and God will Judge)

So, now we have two more boys, and sorry to Dinah, but she doesn't count! Don't you know, Dinah, that you don't count! lol 

Anyway,  Issachar and Zebulun....  God hath given me my hire, and God hath endued me with a good dowry.

So now we are back to Rachel, since it seems to be a contest...

"And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son. 

And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country. 

Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee. 

And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake. And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it. And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me. For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also? 

And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me I will again feed and keep thy flock:

(At this point and a few paragraphs later, Jacob does some underhanded stuff with the herd of cattle. We didn't really know at this point that Laban was keeping him on and not paying him what he was supposed to. not only that, he also kept him for 20 years... 7 for each daughter and then another 6 for his animals...)

 

So, in verses 4-16, Jacob talks to his wives and appeals to them about leaving. He tells them how Laban has cheated him and gone back on his word. He describes how God revealed to him that he would multiply his holdings at the expense of Laban because of his original promises and dishonesty. God also tells him to return to the land of his fathers and to his kindred and HE will be with him, so he heads there.

Genesis 31:17-22 "Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan-aram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.

And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's and Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled. 

So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead. 

And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled."

So, needless to say here, Laban is miffed. Jacob pulled a fast one on him and basically took all of his flock, and his daughters and his grandkids and the two handmaids. And he did this without saying goodbye, and apparently Rachel took her father's images (this means idols-- so their gods that they had prayed to. So now Laban packs all of his stuff and his family that's left and heads out to find Jacob. It takes him 7 days and leads him to Gilead where he has a dream about The Most High God and He tells Laban not to talk to Jacob, good or bad, so what does he do? He goes to attack him and tells him about God, then mentions the gods that he stole...)

So, Jacob doesn't seem to believe him so he says, "With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them."

If you know anything about words, you should know that they have the power to harm, to do wonders, to do anything.... "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God." -John 1.  The word has the ability to create. That is why they call it a spell... spelling.

So, Laban goes into the areas and searches for the 'gods' and Rachel hides them, and at one point is sitting on them in the camel's furniture. 

So now Jacob is ticked because they have been "falsely" accused by Laban as Laban hasn't been able to produce anything. So he mentions all of the things that he has done for Laban, and later that night he takes his two wives and his two womenservants and his eleven sons and they head toward the land of his fathers. 

Genesis 32:23-30 "And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had. 

And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 

And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 

And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 

And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 

And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 

And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 

And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 

Jacob and God fighting Face to Face

And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 

(THIS IS ISRAEL...NOT THE PLACE...IT IS WITH THE PEOPLE)

"I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved"

Whoa... wait a minute. Peniel.... "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved" Genesis 32:30

The main function of the pineal gland is to receive information about the state of the LIGHT-DARK cycle from the environment and convey this information by the production and secretion of the hormone melatonin. 

The Third eye chakra is located in the middle of the forehead between the eyebrows (also called the brow chakra). It is associated with intuition, insight and mysticism. The third eye is the sixth out of the seven chakras that control the meridian of the body, mind and spirit. It can take us to a place of higher consciousness and enlightenment. 

Back to the story...

So, God is wrestling with Jacob... or Jacob is wrestling with God rather, and of course, God would win... no doubt about that. So, it is interesting as it is mentioned earlier in the script that it was at night and throughout the night he wrestled... so Jacob isn't a dummy. If he was in his right frame of mind and it was during the day he would have seen the Glory of God and realized it was dumb to fight him, and would try to avoid conflict, but instead he didn't see him and it was at night, God gets him to do the "sensible" thing from a man's perspective and fight back. 

Now, obviously, God is holding back, so when we read the part about God putting Jacob's hip out of socket in Genesis 32:25, we find out that Jacob was wounded by a soft touch. 

I didn't understand this verse, so I looked it up and it made so much more sense. 

from :ligonier.org/learn/devotional

"The Lord withholds His full might for a time to let Jacob think he is winning. But just when the patriarch thinks he has the upper hand, God puts his hip out of joint. The Almighty did not tear Jacob's leg from its socket, as the Hebrew indicates he was wounded by a soft touch.  Jacob clings to the Lord and begs Him for a blessing, as the force of this nudge begins to reveal the identity of this "man". After all, only God has the strength to crush with a delicate tap. 

For too long, Jacob has assumed his skill is the primary factor in his success. In defeating the patriarch so easily, the Lord shows Jacob who has the power and who truly holds the key to his future. By implication, the wounding also teaches Jacob that he was really fighting against the Lord's holy character when he used dishonest tactics to secure Esau's birthright, even if the blessing was rightfully his. 

So now what? So, after his wrestling with God and his renaming, Esau marches in with 400 of his men, and Jacob sees his face and realizes right away that he has forgiven him.

In Genesis 33, Esau comes with 400 men, and Jacob arranges his family in front of him and has them kneel. 

First the handmaids with their children. 

Then Leah with her children. 

Then finally Rachel with her children. 

Esau wants to know the meaning and who the people are, Jacob tells him, and Jacob bows seven times to Esau, it's a respect thing to show him that Esau is the Lord even though he stole his birth right and blessing. Esau forgave him, says he has more than enough, and leaves shortly after. 

Now do you remember why Esau isn't blessed and Jacob is even though he stole the birthright of Esau? 

Esau disregarded God's law, married women outside of Israel, and didn't respect his birthright. (He actually gave it for a bowl of soup.) I've done some pretty stupid things for food before, but this kind of takes the cake... I wonder what Esau would do for a Klondike bar? lol

So, Esau was excluded from the line that would lead to Christ. Instead, God chose Jacob, who was flawed, yet faithful to carry on his promise to Isaac and Abraham. 

However, he is not excluded from the dreadful bout of karma...

Jacob deceived his father and cheated his brother, so Jacob was deceived and taken advantage of by Laban. Jacob's sons deceived their father by killing/selling Joseph, his favorite. 

What are the 3 promises of God to Jacob? 

* To be with him

* To make his family into a great nation

* And to bring them back from Egypt

I know this is a long blog, but we still have one more son! 

So, after all of this, they go into a town and there are other people living there. 

Esau then leaves with his people to Seir, and Jacob goes to Succoth, and builds a house, and makes booths for his cattle, and that is why they called the place Succoth. 

Fun fact: 

Sukkot^[a] is a Torah-commanded holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which those Israelites who could were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. In addition to its harvest roots, the holiday also holds spiritual importance with regard to its abandonment of materialism to focus on nationhood, spirituality, and hospitality, this principle underlying the construction of a temporary, almost nomadic, structure of a sukkah.^[2]

The names used in the Torah are "Festival of Ingathering" (or "Harvest Festival", Hebrew: חַג הָאָסִיף, romanized: haġ hāʾāsif)^[3] and "Festival of Booths" (Hebrew: חג הסכות, romanized: ḥaġ hasSukkoṯ).^[4][3] This corresponds to the double significance of Sukkot. The one mentioned in the Book of Exodus is agricultural in nature—"Festival of Ingathering at the year's end" (Exodus 34:22)—and marks the end of the harvest time and thus of the agricultural year in the Land of Israel. The more elaborate religious significance from the Book of Leviticus is that of commemorating the Exodus and the dependence of the Israelites on the will of God (Leviticus 23:42–43).

"And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram; and pitched his tent before the city. And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Schechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money. And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel. (Mighty One; God of Israel)

"And Dinah the daughter of Lea, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country , saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her." Genesis 34:1-2

So, we learn here that Dinah is raped by the owner of the land's son, and Jacob finds out, and this guy and his son go to offer him whatever he wants, and offers Jacob to make marriages with them--with his daughters and to take their land and their possessions. 

He says, "Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife."

But Jacob's sons answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said because he had defiled Dinah their sister: And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us."

So, they get these people to circumcise themselves, and the people that agreed did it to get all of Jacob's wealth... instead, they got Levi and Simeon's swords. 

They killed all the males, took all of their livestock as well as their women and children. 
After this, Jacob told his sons that they made him stink and was worried that now he would be a target of the Canaanites and the Perizites, and they weren't big enough in number to fight them, but God said unto Jacob, "Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother." Genesis 35:1

So, they leave, and Jacob comes into Beth-el and makes a new altar, and called it El-beth-el: because God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother. 

And there, once again, God appears to Jacob and says that his name is Jacob. "...thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel." Genesis 35:10

Here's a promise to Israel... 

Genesis 35:9-13

9 "And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and blessed him. 

10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.

11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; 

12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.

13 And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him." (So now, those of you that have heard that the last time he was talking to an angel, you can see it confirmed here...)

So, Jacob then sets up a pillar in the place where he talked with God, even a pillar of sone, and pours a drink offering there and he pours oil as well. 

Jacob then calls the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth-el. 

Then he leaves there, Ephrath, and Rachel is going through a hard labor... (yes, she is having yet another kid)

But the labor was too hard on her, and after she has her baby, she calls him Ben-oni and then passes. 

Ben-oni means "Son of Pain" but Israel changes it to Benjamin meaning "son of the right hand". (Once again, Israel is giving the glory to God.) 

Then Rachel passes. (Remember earlier when Jacob said to Laban? "With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our bretheren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them." Genesis 31:32 (this is the fulfillment)

Genesis 35:19-21 "And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Beh-lehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day. And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar."

Comparison of the southern view of the Tomb in the early 20th and 21st centuries, showing the fortifications

Though Rachel's Tomb has been a common site of Jewish pilgrimage since the twelfth century, in the modern era, a cult with uniquely Rachel elements developed. In contemporary Jewish society it is now considered the third holiest site in Judaism and has become one of the cornerstones of Jewish-Israeli identity. Although Rachel's Tomb is a site holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians, it has effectively been closed to Muslims and Christians. And Since UNESCO adopted a resolution reaffirming a 2010 statement that Rachel's Tomb was: "an integral part of Palestine." On 22 October 2015, the tomb was separated from Bethlehem with a series of concrete barriers.

So, now you have officially met the 12 tribes... with an exception to Joseph's (Ephraim and Manasses) You will learn this in the next blog. :) Until next time, friends! I hope you enjoyed meeting Jacob and Rachel and all of our ancestors... WE ARE ISRAEL. ISRAEL was scattered throughout the nations. God loves us all. 

Restoration Required! ISSUE 1 "THE GOOD NEWS" MOGADORE, OHIO, NEWSLETTER

 

10/19/2023 

Issue 1  “Restoration Required”

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

GOD IS GREAT!

Listen, we have all been there—not feeling good enough, not feeling special enough, not feeling worthy. Above, God is telling us that HE loves us. If one of us falls by the wayside, he is looking for us. He is overjoyed when we change our ways and look to HIM for salvation. We seem to think that we need to be perfect in order to go to Heaven, or in order to achieve God’s Grace.

Guess what? That couldn’t be further from the truth!

God knows that we aren’t perfect. He literally sees everything!

He just wants us to come to HIM. He wants us to CONFESS to Him. To pray without ceasing. To put Him first.

When we do those things we develop a personal relationship with God. This helps us with discernment, with understanding of the scriptures, with seeing what He wants us to see and hear what He wants us to hear.

When we do this, we become “BORN AGAIN”… and when this happens, we repent and turn away from sin. (SIN NO MORE)

That doesn’t mean you won’t make mistakes along the way. That means that you are living with intention. You focus on God. Keep your eye single, and follow what Jesus said, “I AM the WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE.”

Take up your cross and follow me!

This means to let the ego go and live as Christ Jesus did. Follow the commandments, Speak the truth, and Love thy Neighbor as thyself! What a perfect way to meet new neighbors as friends! 

So, Mogadore, love thy neighbor. Treat each other with respect! (Even during this time of voting!) Take the time to say hi to one another, bring some cookies over to an elderly neighbor, offer to mow someone’s yard if they are having a hard time getting things done. Help a single mom fix a child’s bike. These are all things that we can do to build a community of Christ-like individuals. This is how we grow a village!

May God bless you and yours!

Be safe and pray for our children, and our community.

<3 144 Judah

A Prayer for Mogadore:

Thank you, Father, for shielding Mogadore in Your protective Light! Thank you for being with our children at school, for blessing our teachers to be blessings, and for instilling the correct knowledge in them in order to bring up our children the way that YOU want them to be raised in YOUR GLORY. Thank you, God, for being with our police officers, with our firefighters, and with our elected officials as they go about their day and make decisions for the greater good of all. Thank you for protecting our village with the highest vibration of light and love that surpasses all understanding. In YOUR NAME we pray. AMEN!

If anyone has a prayer request, please send them to me at: theawakeningtalk@gmail.com Subject line: Prayer request.

 

It's in the Bible... (Part Two - The END OF TIME)

 Hi, and thank you for reading my blog at 144Judah! As always, I give All Praises to The Most High God!  Continuing on from our last post, we are going to rewind, so to speak, and start where I mentioned Famine. 

Sign 3: Famine

The next sign listed in Matthew 24:7 is “there will be famines.”

These famines are described in Revelation 6:5-6:

And when He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” And look! A black horse! And he who sat on it had a balance in his hand. I heard a voice in between the four living creatures saying, “A liter of wheat for a denarius, and three liters of barley for a denarius! But don’t damage the oil and the wine!”

When John saw this vision, a denarius was the wage for about one day of work (Matthew 20:2). The major wars of the second seal will quickly lead to widespread inflation, famine, and many people starving.

(We have had a lot of famine over the years. Prices have risen higher and higher, and in today's age, we are seeing them go even higher. I believe that it is only going to get worse. Inflation has been going out the roof.  Gas has climbed significantly in the last year, and now that the war is in Israel, I believe that we are going to be hit again. 

From: Global hunger crisis: Famine closes in | World Vision

The world faces one of the most cruel and devastating crises of our time: Hunger.

Soaring food prices driven by the war in Ukraine, persistent drought and other extreme weather events, and the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have escalated extreme hunger worldwide.

Today, nearly 45 million people in 37 countries are at risk of starvation. Due to a lack of adequate nutrition, 22 million children are suffering from wasting — severe weight loss that can lead to death if not treated. This number is equal to the combined populations of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, and Philadelphia.

A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in the Horn of Africa: Across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, nearly 4.9 million girls and boys are acutely malnourished in drought-affected areas and need urgent care.

When the children are hungry, they will start crying, asking for food and will not stop.—Hawa, a mother in Somalia

In Somalia alone, about 6.7 million people will likely face acute food insecurity, and experts predict famine in two districts, Baidoa and Burhakaba — where at least 300,000 people are already living with “catastrophic” levels of food insecurity.

More go hungry, and malnutrition persists

Hunger has exacted a heavy toll on women and children in Baidoa. According to a doctor at Bay Regional Hospital, which offers free medical care to Somalis experiencing severe malnutrition, one to two children are dying daily. Children who recover from malnutrition continue to receive outpatient services, including through World Vision–supported therapeutic clinics and mobile health and nutrition outreach programs.

“When the children are hungry, they will start crying, asking for food and will not stop. When I have water, I give [it to] them to stop crying but it will be … a moment before they start again, demanding for food,” says Hawa, a 30-year-old mother living in an internal displacement camp in Baidoa.

Almighty God, You are our sustainer, especially in the most challenging times. We pray for You to give the hungry their daily bread (Matthew 6:11) and end their persistent hunger. We ask You to restore health, well-being, and livelihoods. We know no emergency or crisis is too much for You to relieve. 

 From USAFacts.org

More than half a million people experienced homelessness in America last year. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) counted around 582,000 Americans experiencing homelessness in 2022. That’s about 18 per 10,000 people in the US, up about 2,000 people from 2020.

Did you know that the Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians face the biggest Homelessness in America? 

Who is homeless in America?

Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders are 1.8% of the homeless population despite being just 0.26% of the US population. They have the nation’s highest rate of homelessness at 121 per 10,000 people.

Twenty-four percent of all homeless people identify as Hispanic. This is higher than the national proportion of the Hispanic population: 19%.

One reason Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders have such high rates of homelessness could be because of Hawaii’s lack of affordable housing. Many native Hawaiians are also on wait lists for homeland leases.

Veterans also experience homelessness at a slightly higher rate than the overall population. Twenty out of every 10,000 veterans are homeless, compared to the nation’s overall rate of 18 per 10,000.

It is now even worse in America with the border being in near shambles. We don't have room for our own people and now we are taking on an even bigger problem. 

What does this have to do with food? We have too many people coming through, our country is printing money with nothing to back it up, and the drugs and child trafficking that is coming through is at an all-time high. We have powerful people buying the US farmland and not farming. We have government regulations on everything...food, energy, big pharma. And now, Biden, "the resident", is talking about getting rid of gas stoves. The prices are going up everywhere, the pipelines have been shut down. Trucks were shut down for a while last year, and the production/people working is at a major low. PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO WORK ANYMORE. 

People are starting to wake up to the fact that they have been slaves. 

Does this sound familiar? Could it be that the Israel that God talks about in the Bible isn't in fact a state, but a people? YES. It is in the Bible, after all. He also talks about the people that say they are Jews but are not and are nothing but the SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN. 

COULD THIS BE OUR VERY OWN EXODUS? GET OUT OF HER! GET OUT OF BABYLON! 

What does that mean? 

Get out of her? 

Get out of Babylon?

IT means get out of the world. Get out of the false doctrines. Where your heart is there lies your treasure...

Matthew 6:20-25

"But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Yet, another clue that we are indeed in the end times... the birthing pains are getting bigger. 

In other words, if you have an eye toward The Most High God, you won't be in darkness. You won't fear. If your treasure lies in money, fame and fortune, you aren't looking toward what really matters. GOD. That doesn't mean you won't have anything; it just means that you won't place those things above God. No idols, remember? That includes people... even your husbands, wives and kids... Nobody or anything in life is more important than God. 

GOD, HUSBAND/WIFE, then kids. Concentric Circles of importance. 

From Rapture Forums...

In a vision, God revealed to Daniel that in “the time of the end,” travel and knowledge will increase: “But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end. Many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.” Daniel 12:4 (NLT)

According to the book of Daniel, two things will increase in “the time of the end” – travel and knowledge.

Is this the case now?

At the time the Book of Daniel was written, horses were the world’s the fastest mode of transportation.

In fact, horses remained the world’s fastest mode of transportation for over 2,000 years until the Industrial Revolution spawned such innovations as the steamboat, the locomotive, and the horseless carriage.

Prior to the 20th Century, most people rarely traveled more than 30 miles from where they were born. Today, people routinely travel from one continent to another within the same day. My own family has traveled across the United States in a week during our roadtrip in 2021. It was nothing to drive a 15 hour drive and have fun along the way. 

Today’s world is definitely not “the way it’s always been.”

Frequency and speed of travel have markedly increased!   

WHO GAVE US THIS TECHNOLOGY?

What about knowledge?

In Daniel’s time, few people received a formal education. In fact, basic literacy was a foreign concept to all but an elite minority of the world until the past 100 to 150 years.

Yet, in the past century alone, human knowledge of science, biology, technology, and countless fields of endeavor has exploded. And the advent of the Internet has created a worldwide archive of human knowledge that far exceeds even the wildest dreams of the great ancient civilizations.

WHO GAVE US THIS KNOWLEDGE?

Is humanity’s knowledge base today “the same as previous generations?”

Absolutely not. Human knowledge has also markedly increased.

Given that all this can be ascertained from mere observation, how can anyone say with a straight face that “things today are the same as they’ve always been?”

 

Not only do we have the internet, but we have virtual reality games, cell phones and computers that keep getting smaller and smaller. Video game systems. We went from barely any phones in the 90s to an explosion in the 2000s. We went from a gigantic box computer, and even not long before that a computer that was as big as a room, to your phone being the fastest computer--something that can be held in the palm of your hand.  In a few seconds you can get hard to answer questions from your phone, Alexa or Google without breaking a sweat. 

And here I thought dictionaries and encyclopedias were pretty cool to have back in high school. My kids have never had to use an actual map, a phone book or an encyclopedia. EVERYTHING is at our fingertips!

WHAT TIME ARE WE IN? ARE WE IN THE SECOND COMING OR ARE WE IN THE LITTLE SEASON?

From the clear truth.com

Disease and Death

Revelation 6:7-8 says: "And when He opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” And I looked and look! A sickly-green horse! And the one who sat on it, his name is Death, and the grave follows with him. And authority was given to him over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with famine, and with death, and by the wild animals of the earth."

War and famine will lead to widespread disease. Packs of wild animals, including former pets, will roam the streets looking for food (this is also mentioned in Leviticus 26:22). Earthquakes will add to the death toll.

The compounding effects of the first four signs will cause one-quarter of humanity to die. When you see 25% of the world population die, you will know that the fourth sign has been fulfilled.

Matthew 24:8 says, “But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.”

The True Gospel Will Be Preached and Suppressed

Next, Jesus explained what would happen to His followers: "At that time they will hand you over to oppression, and will kill you. And you will be hated by all the nations because of My name." (Matthew 24:9)

This sign will actually occur in parallel with the first four signs.

This is explained in Luke 21:12: 

"But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you,

delivering you up to synagogues and prisons,

bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake."

As a false Christianity rises in power, it will seek to suppress true Christianity.

True Christians will be thrown in prison and brought before leaders to be judged.

This will be an opportunity for them to preach to world leaders as a witness (Luke 21:13-15).

This will be a time of sifting among the followers of Christ. Some will hold on to their beliefs and boldly proclaim the truth. Others will abandon their faith and betray their friends and relatives (Matthew 24:10-13).

During this time, the true followers of Jesus Christ will finish preaching the true Gospel to the whole world. Jesus told His followers, “Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to all the creation” (Mark 16:15). Matthew 24:14 says, “And this good news of the Kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

So look for those who preach the real Good News to the whole world. Look for those who are “hated by all nations” when they do not follow the false Christianity that will be popular at the end of the age. Those will be the real followers of Christ—a group you might want to be a part of.

Evangelist, other Christians in Uganda Assaulted

NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – Hard-line Muslims at an open-air evangelistic event in eastern Uganda on Aug. 11 assaulted a preacher and more than 20 other Christians for his teaching about Christ’s divinity, sources said.

Robert Faisali Miya, a 34-year-old father of four, was also struck with a thorny object and stomped on during the event in Busolwe, 236 kilometers (147 miles) northeast of Kampala, an eyewitness said.

On the third day of a five-day event planned by an undisclosed church from another town, Miya cited passages from the Koran as examples that acknowledge the uniqueness of Christ, and said the Bible affirms His uniqueness as the Son of God who grants forgiveness by virtue of His death and resurrection.

Muslims began chanting the jihadist slogan, “Allah Akbar [God is greater],” and a Muslim leader known in the area to be hard-line sheikh, Hiisa Mubaraka, rushed to the podium and pulled the evangelist down, said the eyewitness.

Christian Evangelists Attacked for Preaching to Muslims in Uganda

Both sustain knife wounds.

October 23, 2022 By Our East Africa Correspondent 

NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – Two evangelists in eastern Uganda were beaten and slashed with knives after leading several Muslims to Christ, sources said.

And that is just a tiny bit... Christians are being persecuted all over the globe. The news site where I got this information above has a ton of listings just like this. 

To read more click here. 

I look forward to the next blog!  Part Three (The End of Time)