Once upon a time, the vast majority of all Americans believed that the Bible was the Word of God, but now things have fundamentally changed.  With each passing year, the Bible is becoming less important to most Americans.  The results of the most recent State of the Bible survey are absolutely shocking.  The survey was conducted by the Barna Group on behalf of the American Bible Society, and it clearly shows that the Bible is becoming less important in the daily lives of Americans.  Sadly, young people are rejecting the Bible and rejecting Christianity in higher percentages than anyone else.  The Bible tells us that there will be a great apostasy in the last days, but to see it start to happen is incredibly sad.  The following are some of the most noteworthy results of the survey....

• In 2011, 54% of American adults said that the Bible has too little influence in society today.  In 2012, that number was only 47%.
• The survey found that 55% of all American adults read the Bible to be closer to God.  That was a 9% decline from 2011.
• In 2011, 53% of American adults believed that "the Bible contains everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life".  In the 2012 survey, that percentage fell to 48%.
• Last year, 67% of all American adults said that they want to read the Bible more.  This year, only 60% of all American adults said that they want to read the Bible more.
• 54% of all respondents to the survey this year were not able to correctly identify the first five books of the Bible.
• 46% of all American adults believe that the Bible, the Quran and the Book of Mormon "are different expressions of the same spiritual truths".
• 36% of all American adults read the Bible less than once a year.
• According to the survey, younger Americans consider the Bible to be less important than older Americans do. Only 34% of Americans in the 18-27 age bracket believe that "the Bible contains everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life".  In the 66 and older age bracket, 62% believe that "the Bible contains everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life".

As the Bible becomes less important to most Americans, they are also increasingly coming to believe that all major religions are acceptable paths to God.

In fact, a movement known as "Chrislam" that is attempting to draw together Christianity and Islam is making inroads in churches all over America.  For example, last year dozens of churches publicly read from the Quran during their worship services one Sunday as part of an interfaith project promoted by the Interfaith Alliance and Human Rights First.

Most Americans simply do not believe that there is a single way to God anymore.  One survey that was conducted a while back discovered that 52 percent of all American Christians believe that "at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life".

For many other Americans, religion is simply not important at all.  A survey that was conducted by LifeWay Research found that 46 percent of all Americans never even think about whether they will go to heaven or hell at all.

Without a doubt, Christianity is losing its dominant role in American life.  Most Americans still consider themselves to be "Christian" in one sense or another, but the percentage of Christians in the United States is falling fast.  Back in 1990, 86 percent of all Americans considered themselves to be Christians.  In 2008, that number had plummeted to 76 percent.

So where are all of those people going?

Well, certainly a number of other religions have grown rapidly, but so has atheism.  In fact, according to the U.S. Census Bureau the number of Americans with "no religion" more than doubled between 1990 and 2008.

This is particularly true among young Americans.  According to one survey, 25 percent of all Americans in the 18 to 29 age bracket say that they have no religion.

Survey after survey has found that the younger a person is, the less likely they are going to be Christian.

Young adults in America today are far less likely to be engaged in religious activities than their parents or grandparents.  The following are some of the results of a survey of young adults that was conducted by LifeWay Christian Resources....

•65% rarely or never pray with others, and 38% almost never pray by themselves either.

•65% rarely or never attend worship services of any kind.

•67% don't read the Bible or any other religious texts on a regular basis.

There appears to be a huge drop off in church attendance during the transition from the teen years to the young adult years.  The following comes from a CNN article....

David Kinnaman, the 38-year-old president of the Barna Group, an evangelical research firm, is the latest to sound the alarm. In his new book, "You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church and Rethinking Faith," he says that 18- to 29-year-olds have fallen down a "black hole" of church attendance. There is a 43% drop in Christian church attendance between the teen and early adult years, he says.

But that doesn't mean that young adults in America are fully rejecting spirituality.

In fact, spirituality and the supernatural have been at the very heart of some of the biggest entertainment phenomenons that we have seen in recent years.  Harry Potter and Twilight both captured the imaginations of millions upon millions of young Americans.

Our young people seem to have a craving for the supernatural, but they do not seem to have much of a desire for Christianity.

In fact, many music superstars have found great success by using dark imagery that fully rejects Christianity.  Satanic imagery seems to have a great allure for many young Americans today.  The following comes from a recent Fox News article....

Lady Gaga, for example, frequently uses satanic imagery in her music videos. A simple Google search of Gaga’s name yields results that suggests everything from her being a servant of the dark lord, which she does little to dispel, to her involvement with the Illuminati, an alleged secret society of powerful musicians, CEOs and politicians rumored to worship the devil.

Similarly, Kanye West has garnered attention with controversial satanic images in his music videos and joking that he is involved with the Illuminati. West's frequent collaborators Jay Z and Beyonce are rumored to be involved with the group as well.

Rapper Tyler Okonma, better known by the stage name Tyler the Creator, has even branded himself the son of Satan in his song “Bastard.”

And with Satan’s imagery arguably translating to remarkable success for these stars, who have Grammys and gold records under their belts, experts don’t see it going away any time soon.

We need to reach these young people with the truth while there is still time.

Large portions of the church are sleeping and this generation of young people is rapidly slipping away.

We desperately need a true spiritual awakening in this country.

So what do you think about the things that you have just read above?  Please feel free to leave a comment with your opinion below....

If you want to know if a war is coming, don't listen to what the politicians are saying.  Instead, keep an eye on where ships, troops and equipment are headed.  Right now, there are quite a few signs that intense military preparations are being made for war in the Middle East.  By April, there will be multiple aircraft carrier groups in the Persian Gulf.  Large numbers of U.S. troops are being massed within striking distance of Iran, and it is being reported that U.S. aircraft are heading to the Middle East in numbers not seen for years.  So does all of this mean that war is coming?  Not necessarily.  Perhaps the Obama administration is just trying to scare Iran into giving up its nuclear program.  Perhaps the Obama administration is just trying to convince Syrian President Bashar Assad that it is time to step down.  But the fact that such intense military preparations are being made right now is certainly very, very interesting.  Usually wars are planned long in advance.  The truth is that military planning does not begin when the politicians stop talking.  In just about every major military conflict in modern times, forces have been moved into position long ahead of time.

So will we see a war in the Middle East in 2012?

Only time will tell.

But things certainly are starting to heat up.

The following are 7 signs that intense military preparations are being made for war in the Middle East....

#1 France is sending a nuclear aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf, and it is expected that the U.S. will have three aircraft carrier groups operating in the Persian Gulf by April.

#2 It is being reported that large numbers of U.S. troops are being positioned on two strategic islands within easy reach of Iran.  The following comes from a recent Debka article....

Debkafile's military sources report a steady flow of many thousands of US troops for some weeks to two strategic islands within reach of Iran, Oman's Masirah just south of the Strait of Hormuz and Socotra, between Yemen and the Horn of Africa.

#3 A major amphibious landing exercise known as "Bold Alligator" is currently being conducted along the Virginia and North Carolina coasts.  Eight other nations are also participating in this drill, and many analysts believe that this drill is in preparation for an Iranian operation.  The following comes from a recent Arutz Sheva article....

The Bold Alligator drill includes 20,000 U.S. forces, plus hundreds of British, Dutch and French troops – as well as liaison officers from Italy, Spain, New Zealand and Australia.

The drill includes a beach landing and air assault supported by 25 warships, and is intended to  “to revitalize, refine, and strengthen fundamental amphibious capabilities and reinforce the Navy and Marine Corps role as ‘fighters from the sea.’”

U.S. Marines have spent a decade out of their native element in the deserts of Iraq and mountains of Afghanistan, but with the Pentagon's restructuring and forward-focus on Asia, the Marines are returning to their roots.

Admiral John Harvey, head of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, described Bold Alligator as “the largest amphibious exercise conducted by the fleet in the last 10 years.”

#4 There have been reports of huge numbers of U.S. aircraft moving into position in the Persian Gulf region.  The following comes from a recent Debka report....

Debkafile's military sources report that flight after flight of US warplanes and transports were to be seen this week cutting eastward through the skies of Sinai on their way to Gulf destinations, presumably Saudi Arabia, at a frequency not seen in the Middle East for many years.

#5 A helicopter carrier (the USS Ponce) that was supposed to have been decommissioned after duty in Libya is now being upgraded and is scheduled to be able to be available for service in the Persian Gulf by June.

#6 The Saudis appear to be really preparing for something.  Just check out what Debka says has been going on in Saudi Arabia....

Our military sources report that the Saudis this week wound up their own intensive preparations for war. Large forces are now deployed around Saudi oil fields, pipelines and export facilities in the eastern provinces opposite the Persian Gulf, backed by anti-missile Patriot PAC-3 batteries. American, British and French fighter-bombers have been landing at Saudi air bases to safeguard the capital, Riyadh.

#7 Someone has been moving huge numbers of tanks around by train in California.  Just check out this video.

So what do you think?

Do you believe that these military preparations are a sign that we will see a war in the Middle East in 2012?

Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion below....

Are the Palestinians going to unilaterally declare independence and ask the UN to formally recognize an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders this September?  That is what many in the Israeli government now fear.  At this point the Palestinians have pretty much given up on negotiations with Israel and they have initiated an all-out effort to get the international community behind their effort to achieve statehood in 2011.  The Scriptures warn over and over again about dividing the land of Israel, and many believe that those warnings were put into the Bible for the last days.  So could we actually see the UN establish a formal Palestinian state without the approval of Israel by the end of 2011?  Unfortunately, a whole lot of signs are pointing in that direction.

A recent article in The New York Times noted the intense pressure that Israel is under right now.  Basically the global community is telling them to give away the farm to the Palestinians or else the UN is just going to go ahead and do it anyway....

With revolutionary fervor sweeping the Middle East, Israel is under mounting pressure to make a far-reaching offer to the Palestinians or face a United Nations vote welcoming the State of Palestine as a member whose territory includes all of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

So where is the incentive for the Palestinians to negotiate in all of this?  If the Israelis don't give them a Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital they will just wait for the UN to hand it to them.

Yes, it could really happen.

The following are 10 alarming signs that momentum is building for the UN to formally recognize an independent Palestinian state in 2011....

#1 The World Bank has publicly endorsed the formation of an independent Palestinian state.

#2 The IMF is formally backing the establishment of a Palestinian state in the near future.

#3 A recent United Nations report made the following statement about the Palestinian Authority: "In six areas where the UN is most engaged, governmental functions are now sufficient for a functioning government of a state."

#4 The Ad-hoc Liaison Committee on Palestine, composed of the EU, the United States, Canada, Norway, Russia, four Arab countries, the UN, the World Bank and the IMF, has endorsed the UN report and says that the Palestinians are ready for an independent state.

#5 U.S. and EU officials are warning that if Israel does not agree to a Palestinian state within the next few months, "the Quartet may be compelled to recognize a Palestinian State in the 1967 borders, with east Jerusalem as its capital".

#6 It is being reported in the international media that the following 4 points form the core of Obama's strategy for bringing about a Palestinian state: "Israel's acceptance of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders; Palestinian acceptance that there would be no right to return to Israeli land; Jerusalem as the capital of both states; and the protection of Israel's security needs."

#7 Earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the following statement about the situation in Israel: "The status quo between Palestinians and Israelis is no more sustainable than the political systems that have crumbled in recent months."

#8 New Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi is now asking the United States to formally recognize a Palestinian state.

#9 The Palestinian Authority has set September 2011 as the deadline to be ready for statehood.

#10 Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas sounds convinced that Barack Obama is going to make good on his promise to deliver an independent state into the hands of the Palestinians by the end of the year: "We are counting on the words of U.S. President Barack Obama who said his vision is to see a Palestinian state this coming September according to a deadline set by the Quartet."

Sadly, an independent Palestinian state would probably only make war more likely.

The following is how author Joel C. Rosenberg recently explained it....

If the Palestinians make a unilateral declaration of what they want, what will stop Israel from unilaterally declaring what they want? What if the Palestinians try to forcibly evict the Jews living in the West Bank? Those Jews would certainly fight back. Would the Israeli military move to defend the Jewish settlers? Would Palestinian security forces then fire upon the Israeli forces? Would the U.N. move into to condemn and isolate Israel, and even impose draconian economic sanctions on the Jewish state? Events could spiral out of control. Indeed, the likelihood is that far more violence — not peace — would result by such a Palestinian declaration of statehood outside the context of negotiations with Israel.

Unfortunately, even if the Palestinians get a state, there is going to be a massive war in the Middle East.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah is arming to the teeth and they are absolutely obsessed with driving Israel into the sea.

Syria had been getting ready for war for decades, and it is almost certainly just a matter of time before Israel and Syria go head to head.

Iran continues to develop their nuclear program and it is seemingly inevitable that at some point the Israelis will strike them in order to stop that.

Egypt has just taken a hard turn towards radical Islam and a recent poll found that the majority of the Egyptian people are in favor of ending the peace treaty with Israel.

So, no, the Middle East is not getting closer to peace.

In fact, it is getting much closer to war.

We live in very unstable times.  Please pray for peace in the Middle East.

A question that a lot of people are wondering about right now is whether or not the Japan earthquake is mentioned in the Bible.  In particular, many are asking if the earthquake in Japan has anything to do with Bible prophecy.  So is the Japan earthquake in the Bible?

Well, no, the massive earthquake that recently hit Japan is not in the Bible.

However, the Scriptures do tell us that earthquakes will be one of the signs of the last days.

That does not mean that God caused the earthquake in Japan.  That does not mean that God is going to be causing the major earthquakes that are to come.  What it does mean is that an increase in the size and frequency of earthquakes should be a sign to us that the return of Jesus Christ is getting closer.

So where in the Bible does it talk about earthquakes in the last days?

In Matthew 24:7, Jesus declared the following about the last days....

"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places."

In Mark 13:8 we see a similar warning by the Messiah....

Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

In Luke 21:11, Jesus mentioned earthquakes as a sign of the last days along with famines, pestilences and "great signs" from heaven....

There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

In the book of Revelation, it tells us that the greatest earthquake of all time will occur just before the end of the Great Tribulation.  Revelation 16:18 says the following....

Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.

So what does all of this mean?

It means that we should expect more very powerful earthquakes as we get deeper into the last days.

Considering what just happened in Japan, that is a very sobering thought.  Many of us will never forget the footage of the massive tsunami in Japan washing cars and homes and people across the countryside as if they were toys for children....

As bad as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan were, the truth is that a lot of stuff much worse than that is eventually headed our way.

In Matthew 24:21, Jesus tells us that the Great Tribulation will be the worst time in all of human history....

For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

When Jesus said that, He was not messing around.  We are rapidly approaching a time that will be the most horrible that the world has ever seen.

Are you ready for that?

Those that don't know Jesus are not going to have any hope in the days ahead.

But that does not have to be you.  The truth is that Jesus came to this earth and died for your sins.  He rose from the dead and now the time of His return from heaven is drawing near.

If you will repent of your sins and give your life to Him, He will forgive your sins and will give you eternal life.

For much more on how to become a follower of Jesus Christ, we urge you to read an article that we posted on another one of our websites entitled "What Does The Bible Say About Salvation?"

The times ahead are going to be absolutely horrible.  By the time all is said and done, billions are going to die.  The earth is going to be an absolute wasteland.  There is going to be more suffering and more agony than during any other period of human history.

But it can be a time of great victory and adventure for you - if you know Jesus.

So what do all of you think about the recent earthquake in Japan?  Please feel free to leave a comment with your opinion below....

The politicians that are working so hard toward a "two state solution" are completely and totally deluded if they actually believe that it will bring lasting peace to the region.  The truth is that according to Islamic law, any lands that have once belonged to Muslims belong to them forever.  Radical Muslims will never recognize the right of the Jews to live on even one inch of the land of Israel.  It simply is not going to happen.  Any "peace agreement" that gives the Palestinians control over more land is only going to be viewed as an "intermediate step" toward the eventual goal of completely eliminating the nation of Israel.  Anyone who doubts this should check out the results of a recent poll by The Israel Project.

The poll asked Palestinians living in Judea, Samaria and Gaza a variety of questions about Israel and about the peace process.  The following are some of the results.....

*60 percent were in favor of direct negotiations with Israel that would result in a "two state" solution.

*Approximately two-thirds of the respondents agreed that "over time, Palestinians must work to get back all the land for a Palestinian state."

*Only 23 percent of the respondents believed that  "Israel has a permanent right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people."

*58 percent of those surveyed preferred "armed struggle" over "engagement with Israel."

*Just 12 percent of the respondents said that official maps, documents and school textbooks should show the name "Israel".

Are you starting to get the message?

In Islam, it is taught that you can negotiate with an enemy, lie to an enemy and even make peace agreements with an enemy if it will put you in a better position to achieve eventual victory.

That is what the Palestinians are doing.  They have no intention of living peacefully alongside Israel forever.  Instead, they are just going to grab land however they can grab it.

If Israel will give them some of the land now peacefully, then so be it.  Later on they will take the rest by force if necessary.

Any attempt at a "two state solution" is absolutely foolish and just puts Israel in even more danger.

Radical Islam does not compromise.  Radical Islam does not forget what the eventual goal is.  Radical Islam will not honor any peace treaty for long.

For years, the top Palestinian leaders have said "peace, peace" to the rest of the world and then have turned right around and have told their constituents that of course they would never give up the eternal struggle to take back "the land of Palestine" for the Palestinians.

But world politicians have been totally fooled.  They keep wanting to believe that if the Palestinians are given more land and more control that they will eventually be satisfied.

But they will never, ever be satisfied.  Not until the entire state of Israel has been wiped off the map.

There will never be lasting peace in the Middle East until Yeshua the Messiah (the Lord Jesus Christ) returns to this earth.  Unfortunately, our politicians are never going to understand that.

The Scriptures tell us that in the last days there will be wars and rumors of wars, and that is certainly true of the times that we are living in today.  Iran's nuclear program continues to advance, and world leaders around the globe are becoming increasingly alarmed.  In fact, even Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is now warning that Iran is close to having the potential to build a nuclear weapon.  For years, Russia has been one of Iran's most vigorous defenders on the world scene, but now even the Russian government is expressing reservations about what is going on in that country.  That should set off alarm bells for all of us.

Not only that, but now even Arab nations are expressing concern about Iran's nuclear program.  For example, the United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United States recently said that it would be extremely difficult for his nation to coexist with a nuclear Iran and that it would support any actions the U.S. took to prevent such a possibility.

The UAE would support a U.S. military strike on Iran?

Yes, you read that correctly.

It is even being reported that both Egypt and Jordan are growing increasingly concerned with Iran's nuclear program.

It looks like Iran is running out of friends.

But Iran continues to recklessly push forward with their nuclear ambitions.

Just this past week, Iran announced that the Bushehr nuclear power plant would be ready for operation in just two months.

But does being able to produce nuclear power mean that Iran is also planning to develop nuclear weapons?

The truth is that we all know the answer to that question.

In fact, a former of Iran's Revolutionary Guard who relayed its secret operations to the CIA for 10 years says that Iran will commit the "most horrendous suicide bombing in human history" if it is not stopped from developing nuclear weapons.

So who is going to stop them?

The United States?

That seems quite likely as long as Barack Obama is running things.

Israel?

Perhaps.

For now, Israel has been trying to talk peace with the Palestinians, but they are also preparing for war.

The world has certainly been trying to push Israel and the Palestinians to the negotiating table, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed interest in sitting down with them.  Netanyahu says that he believes that direct talks with the Palestinians will begin very soon and he recently predicted that they will be "very, very tough".

But on another occasion recently, Netanyahu said that he does not envision actually reaching a negotiated Middle East peace settlement within the next two years, despite his Palestinian counterpart's declared intentions to set up infrastructure for a state by 2011.

So it looks like Netanyahu expects peace talks with the Palestinians to begin soon, but he is not anticipating that they will bear any fruit in the foreseeable future.

Not that any of the other "peace agreements" with the Palestinians have ever worked out.

In the end, war always ends up breaking out again.

And war tensions are certainly on the rise in the region once again.

Debka is reporting that 20,000 Hezbollah troops have advanced and are dug into 160 new positions in South Lebanon.  Israel is believed to be "preparing something" for Lebanon and Hezbollah is on high alert to prevent it, unnamed sources in the group were quoted by London-based newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat as saying recently.

In addition, according to the Palestinian Authority daily newspaper Al-Hayat al-Jadida, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas recently told Arab leaders that the PA is ready to wage war on Israel if the rest of the Arab world does.  The following is what Abbas reportedly told them....

"If you want war, and if all of you will fight Israel, we are in favor.  But the Palestinians will not fight alone because they don't have the ability to do it."

To the world media, Abbas talks about peace, peace, peace, but to his fellow Arab leaders he says that the Palestinian Authority is ready for war with Israel.

What a hypocrite.

The truth is that even if a "peace agreement" is reached, and even if a "Palestinian state" is created, more wars in the Middle East are inevitable.

These are the last days, and wars are going to continue until the end.  The only time that there is going to be true peace is after the King of Kings, the Messiah, returns to this earth and sets up His kingdom in Jerusalem.

Are home Bible studies slowly being made illegal in many areas of the United States?  Unfortunately, the headline above is not a joke.  It is actually happening in many areas of the country.  Many of you who are reading this have already seen some of the headlines.  It just seems so bizarre that authorities are spending their time and resources going after home Bible studies when there are so many other problems out there right now.  But it is happening.

Ever since the United States was created, people have gathered in their homes to study the Bible and worship God together.  There has never been a time when such meetings in homes have been against the law.

Until now.

For example, it is being reported that a home Bible study group in Rancho Cucamonga, California must have a "Conditional Use Permit" by Good Friday, April 2nd, in order to continue gathering.

This is for a Friday Bible study that only has an average of 15 people attend.

Do the authorities there really need to spend time, money and resources to stop a 15 person Bible study?

No wonder this nation is spinning wildly out of control.

But sadly there are more examples of this phenomenon.

One town in Arizona has actually banned absolutely all church meetings in private homes.

Seriously.

The pastor of the Oasis of Truth Church received a cease and desist letter ordering him to terminate all religious meetings in his home, regardless of their size, nature, or frequency.

So how many members does this horribly threatening church have?

7 members.

But apparently the town of Gilbert, Arizona is prepared to go all out to keep these 7 adults and their children from having Bible studies in their homes.

What in the world has happened to the United States of America?

The truth is that we need to be able to meet in our homes.  The home church movement in America is growing, because most of the "establishment churches" have sold out and have abandoned the gospel long ago.

But in the new America the churches that sell out and conform to worldly standards are the ones that get approval from the establishment.

For example, many national leaders are absolutely thrilled that the Episcopal Church has confirmed the election of an Annapolis, Maryland priest as the first openly lesbian bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

But churches and Christian organizations that try to live according to God's standards increasingly find themselves being persecuted.

In fact, a new bill before Congress would prohibit Christian adoption agencies from refusing to adopt to gay and lesbian couples.

So would that cause a large number of Christian adoption agencies to shut down?

Of course.

But they don't care.

The truth is that America is increasingly becoming a hostile place for Christians.

But America is not alone.

The world is becoming an increasingly hostile place for Christians, but this is exactly what Yahshua (Jesus) told us would happen in the last days.

Persecution of Christians is only going to get worse from here on out, so you better buckle up and get ready.

This is going to be quite a ride.

The church in America is a complete and total mess.  A shocking new poll of the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States has revealed that only 39 percent of the members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.

39 percent?

Yes, 39 percent.

This figure comes from the latest "Religious and Demographic Profile of Presbyterians" report which was recently released by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

What is even more stunning is that when you look at only the pastors, the numbers are even lower.

Only 35 percent of the pastors surveyed agreed with the statement that "only followers of Jesus Christ can be saved."

So almost two-thirds of the pastors in the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States believe that there are other ways to be saved other than through Jesus Christ.

At this point it would be really east to jump all over the Presbyterians, but the truth is that this type of apostasy is common in many Christian denominations.

For example, USA Today recently reported on an almost unbelievable new survey that found that 52 percent of American Christians believe that eternal life is not exclusively for those who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior.

So not only do a majority of Presbyterians not believe that Jesus is the only path for salvation, a majority of Christians throughout the United States believe this as well.

In fact, a different survey taken last year by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life found that 57 percent of evangelical Christians in the U.S. believe that "many religions can lead to eternal life".

What in the world?

What is happening in our churches?

How far have we gotten from the basics of the Christian faith?

In John 14:6, Jesus told us the following....

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

There is no other way to salvation.

Just think about it for a minute.

If there was any other way for our sins to be forgiven, then why did Jesus need to die on the cross?

If there were many other ways to salvation, then the death of Jesus on the cross was totally unnecessary.

Jesus could have simply come down to earth, pointed out a bunch of other ways to get to heaven, and then could have gone back up to heaven without ever having to deal with the cross.

But the truth is that there was no other way for our sins to be paid for.

Jesus Christ, being the sinless Son of God, died on the cross to pay for the sins of all humanity.

All other religions reject this, and most of them involve jumping through "hoops" and doing good works of some kind or another in order to try to obtain the favor of a deity.

But the reality is that without the sacrifice of Jesus Christ there is no path to heaven.

Without Jesus to pay for our sins we are all still guilty.

Why can't Christians in the United States understand this?

The truth is that the church in America is a complete and total mess.  But we knew that these days would come.  2 Timothy 4:3 tells us this.....

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

There were also other results from the PC(USA) survey that were almost equally as shocking.  Just consider these numbers....

*Only one in six members and even fewer ministers believe that the Bible is to be taken literally, word for word.

*Only 44 percent say that they have had a "conversion experience" when they committed themselves to Christ.

So what are we to make of all this?

The reality is that the PC(USA) is not the only denomination out there that is a total mess.

Most churches do not teach Biblical Christianity anymore.

Most churches do not teach the basics of the Christian faith.

Perhaps you attend one of those churches.

If you are confused about what the Bible says about God and about salvation, then we encourage you to check out the new website that we are putting together that answers some of the most basic questions about the Christian faith.

In particular, we would encourage you to read an article that we put together entitled "What Does The Bible Say About Salvation?"

The truth is that the Bible is very clear about God's plan of salvation, and it is the most important message that any of us will ever hear.  If you do not know where you would go if you died tonight, please do not let another day pass without finding out what God has to say about your future destiny. 

Nothing could be more important.

For decades, China was viewed by U.S. strategists as a struggling communist nation with a massive population that really did not represent any kind of strategic threat to the United States at all.  But that has now dramatically changed.  Thanks to trade agreements that are extremely favorable to China, the "Great Dragon" has risen and has become a formidable economic machine.  Already accounting for a fifth of humanity, this new economic muscle has also allowed Beijing to dramatically reform and upgrade the Chinese military.  Now China is without a doubt a world superpower and it stands poised to be a major player on the world stage during the last days.

So just how powerful of an economic force is China now?

Well, in 2010 China is expected to replace Japan as the world's second-largest economy.

Not only that, but China has overtaken Germany and is now the biggest exporter in the entire world.

Let that sink in for a bit.

China sells more stuff to other countries than anyone else in the world.

That fact alone is enough to make China an economic superpower.

Citizens of the U.S. like to think of themselves as the greatest economic superpower, but the reality is that the average American is drowning in debt.  In fact, the average American piled up even more debt this past Christmas season buying cheap plastic stuff made in China to exchange with family members around the ole Christmas tree.

The truth is that U.S. wealth is flowing into China at a staggering rate, and nobody seems to want to do a thing about it.

And thanks to ridiculously one-sided trade agreements, that arrangement is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

But China's growing economic power is only one side of the equation.

It is China's emerging military strength that has U.S. military strategists starting to sit up and take notice.

Very quietly, China has been engaged in one of the greatest military buildups of modern times.

On Wednesday, Wallace Gregson, the Assistant Defense Secretary for Asian and Pacific security affairs, made the following statement regarding China in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee....

"We remain troubled by China’s continued lack of openness and transparency in military affairs."

The truth is that China has always had one of the world's largest militaries.  The PLA maintains a force of over two million men, and it is complemented by the world's third largest air force and the world's largest small ship navy.

But now China has enough wealth to develop and purchase cutting edge military technology.  The reality is that China is quickly becoming a very serious strategic threat to the United States.

For example, China has just successfully tested a new technology designed to shoot down incoming missiles in mid-air.

In addition, China is also pursuing technology that could home in on and destroy satellites in orbit.

Nobody was concerned about China developing these types of capabilities a couple decades ago.  But now armed with billions of dollars from the West, China is rapidly gaining ground on the U.S. military.

China is rapidly expanding and modernizing their conventional forces as well.  China is planning a massive investment in helicopter production with a goal of increasing its helicopter fleet tenfold by the end of the year.

Tenfold?

Yes, you read that right.

There are also rumors that China is planning to build several aircraft carriers, although Beijing is denying those rumors at this point.

There are also reports that the Chinese military is considering setting up military bases and possibly deploying forces in the Middle East over the next decade as a means of protecting its access to strategic materials.

You see, China is heavily invested in the Middle East - particularly in Iran.  In fact, China is Iran's main customer for oil.  China has plans to invest approximately 43 billion dollars in Iran's oil industry, and it has expressed serious concerns about a potential attack on Iran by the United States and/or Israel.

And that right there might end up being the key which brings the United States into conflict with China.

The Chinese are not going to sit idly by and watch the United States and/or Israel decimate Iran and cut off one of their key sources of oil.

The growing Chinese economy desperately needs oil to keep on churning.  A reliable supply of oil is of the utmost strategic importance to the Chinese government.

If the United States and/or Israel goes to war with Iran it would likely infuriate China.

In fact, there are many who believe that it is only a matter of time until the United States and China go to war.

Let us hope that day does not come any time soon, but the reality is that China has become a world superpower and it is going to be a major player in the last days. 

Anyone in the U.S. government who does not take China seriously from now on is making a huge mistake.  The Dragon has risen and it is not going away.

Inspired by a former nun, The Charter For Compassion, composed by leading thinkers in many different faiths, was unveiled to the public on Thursday, November 12th.  At first glance, The Charter for Compassion sounds very noble as it encourages everyone to embrace the "principle of compassion" that "lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions".  However, it is when the document calls for "a positive appreciation" of "religious diversity" that its agenda becomes clear.  The truth is that The Charter For Compassion represents yet another huge step towards a one world religion, and a bunch of big names are openly supporting it.  The charter's growing list of "affirmers" includes the Dalai Lama, Queen Noor of Jordan, Grand Mufti of Egypt Sheikh Ali Gomaa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, author Deepak Chopra, author Sir Ken Robinson, actress Goldie Hawn and musician Paul Simon.

The Charter For Compassion sprang from a wish former nun Karen Armstrong was granted in 2008 at a prestigious Technology, Entertainment and Design Conference.  Armstrong is a British author who has penned quite a few works on comparative religion, including the highly successful "A History Of God".  She has long promoted the idea that all major religious traditions have the same core truths.

Now she has enlisted major religious leaders from across the globe to write and promote The Charter For Compassion, which is little more than a thinly veiled attempt to promote a one world religion.  The Charter For Compassion is posted online in seven different languages, and you can view it for yourself right here.....

http://charterforcompassion.org/

The document itself is quite short, and the key language is actually found mostly in the 3rd paragraph.

In the 3rd paragraph, The Charter For Compassion states that it is time for humanity "to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate".

First of all, where in the world did the authors of this document come up with this ancient principle?

The truth is that they have come up with it out of thin air.

It is certainly not a Christian principle.

I wonder how John 14:6 would be "interpreted" by the authors.

John 14:6 says this.....

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

That seems clear enough.

Jesus says that He is the only way to God.

But not according to The Charter For Compassion.

According to The Charter For Compassion, we are "to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures".

The reality is that this goes directly against how God directed us to live in the Ten Commandments.

In Exodus 20:3-6, God instructs us in the first two of the Ten Commandments that we are to have nothing to do with other gods.....

"You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments."

But you see that just doesn't fly in today's new "politically correct" world.

Instead, The Charter For Compassion commands us "to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity".

Compare that language with what God told the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 8:19.....

If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.

The truth is that the Lord God does not tolerate the worship of idols or false gods.

He never has and He never will.

But for the drafters of The Charter For Compassion, any "god" that you want to believe in is fine, just as long as you "respect" all of the other "gods" that other people want to worship.

In addition, for the drafters of The Charter For Compassion, "a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity" means that you should never try to "evangelize" people from other religions because that just would not be very "tolerant" of you.

But the reality is that if you love others, you will help them find eternal life through Jesus Christ.

In John 3:36 it says this.....

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

That is what the truth is.  Those who belong to Jesus will have eternal life.  All others will not.

That may sounds "intolerant" to the drafters of The Charter For Compassion, but it is the loving truth.

What the drafters of The Charter For Compassion are doing is promoting the establishment of a one world religion which will one day worship the Antichrist as "the one" that all the major world religions have been waiting for.

To learn more about how the coming one world religion will pave the way for the Antichrist, we encourage you to read our previous article on the subject: Will The Messianic Expectations Of All Major World Religions Pave The Way For Antichrist?

 A video presentation of The Charter For Compassion is posted below.  As you watch this short video, watch for how truth is carefully mixed with deception to promote the idea that all religions need to come together.....

There is a new push to make the Temple Mount in Jerusalem a site that is shared by Jews, Muslims and Christians, and where a rebuilt Jewish Temple can stand side by side with the Islamic Dome of the Rock that stands there now.

Does that sound absolutely crazy and unrealistic?

Perhaps.

But there are scholars and organizations that are actually promoting this idea and working on plans to bring it to fruition.

A recent article that was published in the leading journal of religious law in Israel has sparked a great deal of debate in the Jewish community about the possibility of sharing the Temple Mount.  The article in "Tehumin" discussed the potential for making the Temple Mount into "God's Holy Mountain" - a "house of prayer" for all people (Isaiah 56:7).

Of course, to many Jews and Christians such a concept would be a blatant abomination, but there are religious authorities in Israel that are taking this idea very seriously.

The article in Tehumin envisioned a scenario where a "holy revelation" is given to an "authentic prophet" that would authorize that the Temple be rebuilt in peaceful proximity to the Dome of the Rock and nearby Christian shrines.

The article also seems to think that such a scenario would be in keeping with the words of the famous 12th Century Jewish sage Maimonides that Christianity and Islam are part of God's ultimate plan "to direct the entire world to worship God together."

As unlikely a scenario as this may seem right now, the truth is that this sets the stage for the Antichrist to come on the scene as "an authentic prophet" in the future with a peace plan that would propose just such a thing.

Yoav Frankel, the director of the project promoting a vision of "God's Holy Mountain" acknowledges the skepticism that many have regarding the project but at the same time expresses a great deal of long-term optimism:

"We offer this vision for a long and deep discussion, and of course want to continue with a parallel research from other religions."

There is even a website for the project promoting a vision of "God's Holy Mountain":

www.godsholymountain.org

The website depicts a harmonious future for the Temple Mount where Muslims, Christians and Jews mingle between the Dome of the Rock and a rebuilt Jewish Temple.

The project is headed by Jewish members of the Interfaith Encounter Association, and they are actively encouraging all three faiths to consider a new theological outlook which would allow for all three religions to worship there.

However, with tensions increasing seemingly with each new day in the Middle East right now, such a scenario for the Temple Mount is not likely to come to fruition any time soon.

But many Bible prophecy teachers have believed for a long time that just such a scenario some day will come to pass.  After the next great war involving Israel, many on both sides will be crying out for peace.

In such an environment, the Antichrist may just be able to convince both the Muslims and the Jews that a shared Temple Mount would be a great symbol of peace.

But as students of Bible prophecy we know how that would turn out.

For the first time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly endorsed an independent Palestinian state. Netanyahu's speech at Bar-Ilan University on June 14th in Ramat Gan, Israel was billed as a major foreign policy event, but most analysts did not anticipate how stunning this speech would turn out to be.

For many Jews, to hear Benjamin Netanyahu publicly call for a Palestinian state is absolutely shocking. This is how Netanyahu described how he sees the peace process playing out: "In my vision, there are two free peoples living side by side each with each other, each with its own flag and national anthem."

Netanyahu did place conditions on a future Palestinian state, however.  He said that any future Palestinian state would have to be unarmed and would have to officially recognize Israel.

Netanyahu's speech was widely seen around the world as his response to the intense pressure that the Obama administration has been putting on him.  His speech struck a defiant tone in that regard, as he refused to heed Obama's call for an immediate freeze of construction on lands Palestinians claim for their future state.

In addition, Netanyahu also clearly said that Jerusalem must remain under Israeli sovereignty.

This goes directly against what Barack Obama has been promising to the Palestinians.

U.S. President Barack Obama has been promising the Palestinians a capital inside the city of Jerusalem and has expressed his desire that the holy sites be taken away from Israel and be put directly under international jurisdiction.

WorldNetDaily recently reported that President Obama told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during a recent meeting that he foresees the creation of a strong Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Abbas' top political adviser, Nimer Hamad, reportedly told this to WorldNetDaily: "Abu Mazen (Abbas) heard from Obama and his administration in a very categorical way that a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital is in the American national and security interest."

It is in America's national interest for the Palestinians to have a capital in the city of Jerusalem?

Are we all suddenly in an episode of the Twilight Zone?

Talk about a really, really, really, really bad idea.

How does anyone come up with an idea that bad?

But giving the Palestinians a capital in Jerusalem is not the end of Obama's plans for the holy land.

There are also reports that Obama desires for the holy sites in Jerusalem to come under international jurisdiction.

And what is Israel supposed to get for all of this?

Peace guarantees that the Islamic terrorists will break within 6 months?

Both Netanyahu and Obama are quite foolish to try to give away the land of Israel.

The truth is that God gets really, really, really angry when people start trying to give away parts of Israel, and He seems to get even angrier when people mess around with the city of Jerusalem.

On a sister blog, we recently put together a comprehensive article that documents many of the natural disasters that have hit the United States when the U.S. has tried to give away pieces of the land of Israel over the past couple of decades.

But has the government learned anything from these warnings?

Not at all.

The U.S. government seems more determined than ever to carve up the land of Israel and to take the holy sites away from the jurisdiction of Israel.

The truth is that God will not bless the U.S. if it continues these kinds of policies.

It has been said that if the U.S. ends up being successful in dividing the land of Israel that God will divide the United States.

After so many thousands of years of seeing what happens when you mess with Israel, you would think that we all would have learned something.

But the reality is that politicians will continue to mock and ignore God and will try to do what they think is best.  Unfortunately their foolishness will only bring disaster on all of us.

Is it wrong for Christians to fear that the "Mark of the Beast" could be implemented in our lifetimes?  Is there any reason to believe that mandatory microchipping of the population is on the horizon?

Well, although there are no known plans by any government in the world to microchip their populations, the technology does exist, and several recent trends seem to indicate that the day when we will see mandatory microchipping of the population is closer than ever.

For example, a shocking new U.S. government plan would embed an RFID chip in all driver's licenses. Just when privacy advocates thought that the REAL ID program was dead, the federal government has come up with something far, far more sinister.

If this proposal is implemented, the U.S. government would be able to electronically track nearly every adult citizen wherever they go. The possibilities for abuse of such a system are endless. For example, the government would be able to compile attendance lists at anti-government rallies just by walking through the crowd with an ID reader.

This very disturbing proposal actually has the support of Janet Napolitano, the new head of the Department of Homeland Security. Instead of calling them REAL IDs, these new licenses would be called "enhanced driver's licenses".

The Department of Homeland Security even has a web page up about these "enhanced driver's licenses". On that page they even admit that these new licenses will contain an RFID chip that "will signal a computer to pull up your biographic and biometric data" and could tell a government agent all of your personal details.

Do any of find this disturbing yet?

Of course this is not the Mark of the Beast yet, but it is another step in that direction.

As you read this, RFID chips are being implanted into humans with alarming frequency. For instance, RFID implants are being implanted in older Americans living with Alzheimer's disease who are at risk of wandering off. RFID human implants are also being used in some areas to store the medical records of patients who are chronically ill so that doctors can get their information quickly in an emergency.

While those uses may sound "good" or "reasonable", the truth is that the primary use of this technology is to create a "Big Brother" society where everything that you do is tracked, traced and watched by the government. Every time this technology expands, it brings us closer to that day that we read about in the book of Revelation.

PC Magazine is even advocating the microchipping of humans.  In a recent article, one of their writers stated this: "It's high time we embraced RFID technology in all its permutations, even personal implants."

The author of that article even advocated the microchipping of our children.

Chip implants can even manipulate human emotions and feelings.  In fact, in one very bizarre application of this technology, scientists in the U.K. are developing an electronic "sex chip" that can be implanted into the brain to stimulate pleasure.

Other more sinister microchip experiments by scientists around the world involve mind control.  Do any of you find it disturbing that the majority of the population could one day be "mind controlled" by the government through mandatory microchip implants?

The use of microchip technology in humans could open the door to abuses that we could hardly even imagine right now.

The reality is that microchipping is becoming commonplace in the United States.  Hospitals, private corporations and security firms are increasingly viewing human microchipping as the most foolproof form of identification.

In particular, financial institutions are eyeing microchip technology as a key to fraud prevention.

The biggest credit card provider in the U.K. says that the plan is for everyone to start paying for their purchases with a microchip instead of a credit card very soon.

"In time you won't have to carry a plastic credit card around with you if you don't want to, although some people will chose to for nostalgic reasons," Barclaycard Chief Executive Officer Antony Jenkins stated recently.

This is just another small step towards the day when everyone in society will be forced to get chipped.

While we are not forced to be chipped yet, the same is not true for some animals in the United States.

Under the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), the FDA is going to start requiring the microchipping of certain types of farm animals and livestock. The homeless, hospital patients and employees of certain corporations are being microchipped in some areas of the United States. This is a technology that is spreading and is not going to go away.

Will you take a microchip someday when the government requires you to do so?

Will you willingly take the chip when they come for you?

It may be really easy to resist it when they introduce it on a voluntary basis at first.

But will you resist it when you cannot have a bank account without it?

Will you resist when you cannot buy or sell without it?

What will you do?

Where will you live?

How will you buy food?

Will you resist when they start putting people without the chip into camps?

Will you resist when they start waterboarding you?

What about when they threaten to put a nail through your eye?

What about when they put you in a cramped, windowless cell and they turn out all the lights and they let dozens of hungry rats in?

What about when they start torturing your children right in front of you?

Will you still resist then?

Will you still resist when they threaten to burn all of your skin off with acid and then throw you into a blazing fire?

Would it be worth it for you to resist?

Why not just make things easy on yourself and take the chip and then you can stay in your house and buy and sell and you can go to work and live normally and the new world order will get of your back?

Perhaps you think that you will never have to face such a choice.

But the Scriptures say that everyone will face this kind of a choice in the last days.

It will be known as "the Mark of the Beast" and we don't know exactly what form it will take, but Revelation 13:16-17 tells us that if you do not have it on your right hand or your forehead you will not be able to buy or sell without it.....

He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Revelation 14:9-11 tells us the ultimate destiny for ANYONE who takes the Mark of the Beast:

A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."

Will you have the power to resist the Mark of the Beast in the last days?

There are some who will.

Only those who have given their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ will have the power to resist when that day comes. We urge you to invite Him into your life today.

The world is becoming a chaotic place. We live in times of wars and rumors of wars, of economic collapse, of rising famine, of devastating natural disasters, of environmental destruction and of global plagues.

The world is spinning out of control and things seem to be continually getting worse.

That is because things ARE getting worse.

Politicians, celebrities and religious leaders run around claiming that they have some answers but nobody can seem to even slow down the growing problems.

The world as we all knew it has fundamentally changed, and many Christians are recognizing that the Bible talked about these times. The Scriptures speak of these times as the last days.

These times that are approaching are the times that Jesus spoke of in Luke 21:10-11.....

Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

The vast majority of people are not going to know how to handle these things. There will be mass panic and mass rioting as these things begin to take place. When people lose everything that they have worked for all of their lives and they realize that there is no hope, then the very worst of humanity will come out.

These will be the days that the apostle Paul wrote about in 2 Timothy 3:1-5.....

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power.

This website will discuss what the Bible has to say about these last days. In the months and years to come, millions of people are going to be looking for answers as the world falls apart, and hopefully this website can help provide some of those answers.

If you enjoy what you are reading on this site, please help us spread the word about it, because the only way that people will be able to get the information that they need is if they are able to find us.