Dear Friends and fellow Believers,
We are midway through 2014.1 hope your year is going okay, because the world is not doing so well. In fact, I want to give you quick update on the state of affairs from a prophetic standpoint.
The power and prestige of the United States is falling like a skydiver with no parachute. Allies and enemies no longer fear or believe the leadership of our nation. How does this fit into the prophetic scenario? According to prophecy, Israel must end their trusting relationship with the United States; all nations are to come against Israel soon.
In particular, the United States is moving to accept Iran's nuclear program and not stop it as promised. Israel is now alone on this matter and committed to stopping Iran from nuclear development. Will Israel attack Iran and take down their nuclear program? Even if they are successful in the attack and slow the Iranian program, the rest of the world will condemn them.
It will also light off a regional war with Hezbollah and Syrian forces in the north, Iran and the Palestinians in the land. Did I mention that the Hamas terrorists in Gaza just joined the Palestinian Authority since the peace talks have been annulled?
It is a fact. There are enough weapons in the hands of Israel's enemies to threaten the survivability of the state of Israel. The prophecy says that Israel will be seriously threatened when the Lord fights for them, destroying the enemies in and around Israel. The victory is to be dramatic enough that the nations will exclaim, "Surely there is a God in the midst of Israel!"
We have all heard the end-time warning of "wars and rumors of wars," and "nation against nation." Presently, armed conflicts are brewing all around the globe. When it comes to kingdom against kingdom, we hear daily of internal conflicts in many nations. Did I mention the increase of earthquakes and new infectious diseases with damaging effects?
Within the United States, a kind of insanity has taken hold of our citizens where the preferred method of suicide now is to shoot up a movie theater, a mall, or a school before killing oneself. The love of many has truly grown cold. Conservative and Christian people find themselves being assaulted and held in contempt by the new militant homosexual/ liberal/progressive crowd.
The high ideals of tolerance and "first amendment speech" that were preached by the same crowd have been discarded. The sanctity of marriage has been openly violated, and the outrageous and promiscuous are the new standards for behavior. It is commonplace to shame goodness and wholesomeness of any believer.
It seems that our nation, along with others, is sinking like the Titanic. As the bow of the Titanic dipped below the water and the slanting deck made it hard to maintain one's balance, the violins kept playing for the enjoyment of the passengers.
Economic collapse is upon us and with it will come food shortages, emergency laws that suspend all freedoms, and anarchy with riots and wanton destruction. Danger will be as close as your front door. Meanwhile, everyone is focused on their smart phones and tracking the latest scores of their favorite sports teams.
As believers, what are we to do? Should we become politically active and vote for another politician? Should we withdraw all of our money from the bank and sandbag the front door and windows of our homes?
Yeshua has answered these questions for us. In fact, He has told us about all of the signs we are now seeing and referred to them all as the "beginning of sorrows." He told us to focus on one particular sign that would be the sign of the end. That sign is an altar on the temple mount with the daily sacrifice. When that altar is operating and then suddenly shut down, that is the sign of the start of the Great Tribulation for 3½ years. The Lord returns in the days immediately after the Great Tribulation.
So, here is the update on the altar right now.
The materials to construct the altar have been collected and are being stored in a warehouse in Jerusalem. Twenty priests are being trained to conduct the daily sacrifice for the evening and morning lambs (the Tamid offering). In the Knesset, Israeli politicians are putting forth legislation to enable Jews to pray and build an altar on the temple mount. There are now orthodox and rabbinical tours on the temple mount which have never happened before.
What used to be a few right wing extremist Jews asserting their "messianic" vision of rebuilding the temple has become a populist majority in Israel. The temple mount controversy is building as it has never been before. Some are boldly asserting that praying Jews will be on the temple mount before the end of the year and a Passover Lamb will be sacrificed at the temple mount altar next Passover 2015.
Is the altar about to be built? All of the trends and movement are in place for this dramatic step to happen this summer or fall. If the altar goes up, we cannot look beyond this winter for the start of the final 3½ years with next Passover being the start of the Greater Exodus. The key is the altar must be built and the Tamid offering started.
With regard to the trauma we now see in the world, it now appears the first four seals of judgment (the four horsemen) detailed in the book of Revelation are at the world's doorstep. War, economic collapse, famine, and disease befall the nations at the start of the Great Tribulation after we have escaped. We will quickly understand why it is called the Great Tribulation.
Lion and Lamb Ministries is dedicated to helping the end-time saints prepare for the Great Tribulation and the Lord's return. Would you join with us in that effort? Your donation will enable us prepare our brethren to escape "Jacob's trouble." Let me thank you now for your financial and prayer support as we endeavor to fulfill our calling in these last days.
Keeps your eyes on Jerusalem, watch for the altar to be constructed, and remember what Yeshua said!
Monte W. Judah
Director, Lion and Lamb Ministries