Signs of the Times, February 2023

Russia and China mobilising troops

The Russians are mobilising hundreds of thousands of fresh troops as they prepare for a new offensive in Ukraine, and meanwhile NATO countries are getting ready to send heavy tanks to the Ukrainians for the first time since the war started.  At the time of writing Russia is starting to push back on Ukraine, albeit at the cost of thousands of soldiers killed in action.   

Now it is being reported that anyone in China that is ‘18 years or older’ could potentially be subject to mobilization under a brand new law which will go into effect next month.

The Chinese are laying the groundwork for a massive nationwide mobilisation of young people. But why would they need to do that?  Nobody is going to invade China.

The only reason why China would be involved in a major war is if they decide to invade Taiwan, because the moment that an invasion of Taiwan begins, the United States and China would be in a state of war.

Apart from the huge dangers of such a war, this would also cause a massive crisis in the western world because the flow of goods made in China would immediately stop.

For example, the US healthcare system would instantly be thrown into a state of complete and utter chaos.  Much of America’s active pharmaceutical ingredients are made in China, including 95% of imports of ibuprofen, 70% of acetaminophen and up to 45% of the imported penicillin supply.  There are thousands of other things that are manufactured in China that would no longer arrive in the west.

Once Taiwan is under attack, the factories located there wouldn’t be able to supply any more microchips, and that would affect virtually industry all over the world. A Chinese invasion would threaten Europe and America’s supply of semiconductors, which are needed to run everything from cars to refrigerators.  If China invades Taiwan, it truly will be a nightmare scenario for the entire globe.

The Russians have already been mobilizing hundreds of thousands of new troops, and it appears that they are poised to make a really big move.  Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov says Russia has mobilised “much more” than 300,000 troops, perhaps up to half a million, and these are pouring into Ukraine in preparation for what is expected to be a major offensive in the coming days and weeks.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Russia was regrouping and attacking on five fronts in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as part of a wider offensive anticipated by Kyiv and its Western allies.

If the Russians start gobbling up huge chunks of new territory in Ukraine, there will inevitably be a very strong response from the western powers. And that will bring us even closer to nuclear war.

The Russians can see the writing on the wall, and so they are starting to fix up bomb shelters all over the nation.  They have thousands upon thousands of bomb shelters that could be used in the event of a nuclear conflict.  Most people just assume that our leaders know exactly what they are doing and that they have everything under control.  Unfortunately, the truth is that they have no idea what they are doing and I believe that this will become exceedingly clear as 2023 rolls along.

Information from Michael Snyder.  End of the American Dream.

I have written an analysis of the Ukraine situation in the light of prophecy, (Russia, Iran, Israel and God – Where is the War in Ukraine taking us?’) available from lld3722@gmail.com.  We have also produced my booklet 10 Signs of the Second Coming in Russian and Ukrainian, available for distribution.

The Church of Confusion (Babel)

The Church of England has provoked ridicule with its intention to debate whether to use ‘non gendered terms’ when referring to God.  ‘Now even God could be going gender neutral’ said one newspaper headline, and contained a spoof rewriting of the Lord’s prayer: ‘Our non-binary parent who art in heaven.’ 

The General Synod’s decision to introduce blessings for people in same sex relationships, but not to allow homosexual marriage in church has pleased neither LGBT activists and liberals who want full homosexual marriage in church, nor traditional Christians who ask ‘How can the church bless what God says is sinful?’

The Church of England’s teaching on human sexuality states that marriage is

In an interview with the BBC the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, was asked whether the decision to reject gay marriage but bless same sex couples was a ‘bit of a fudge.’  He replied,

The BBC interviewer then asked Bishop Cottrell if the C of E still believes that ‘gay sex is sin.’  His reply:

He refused to be drawn on the question about whether such relationships are ‘sin.’ 

What is interesting is that he says people can be welcomed fully into the life of the Church on their terms.  Of course people can join a religious (or political or sporting) organisation on ‘their terms’ or the terms that organisation decides upon.  But the true church of Jesus Christ exists to bring people to God on His terms, to prepare them for eternity in heaven.  We can only enter heaven on His terms.  Those who do not accept God’s terms of entry will be forever outside in hell (Revelation 21.8).  

But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Revelation 21.8

As evangelicals we should welcome all people to come to our church meetings, knowing that God loves them, whoever they are, in the hope that they will turn to Him in repentance and faith.  However God does not accept us into His kingdom, or into heaven, unless we repent and believe that Christ died for our sins and rose again from the dead.

He does not allow us to change His commandments in order to make people feel comfortable about living in sin.  Since those who continue in homosexual practice have not repented of their sins (nor those who continue in heterosexual relationships outside of marriage), by definition they will not inherit the kingdom of God (see 1 Corinthians 6.9-11). 

⁹ Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6.9-11

A church that justifies practices which contradict God’s Word and basic order for the family and for marriage (Genesis 2.24, Matthew 19.1-6, Ephesians 5.22-33), has to be labelled apostate. 

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Genesis 2.24

Christian Concern for our Nation carried an example of where this apostasy is leading the church.  The Bishop of Coventry reported Sam Margrave, a faithful member of the C of E General Synod for over 10 years, to the police for a ‘hate crime’. Sam’s ‘offence’ was to promote a Biblical view of sex and gender and campaign ‘against sexualisation of children.’ 

In a Private Members’ Motion to the General Synod in July 2022 he declared the incompatibility of Christian teaching with ‘Gay Pride’ and called on

As a result Mr Margrave has been met with a constant wave of abuse, sent images of dead bodies, and has also received disturbing emails and phone calls day and night.  When he attended General Synod in July 2022, he had to have protection due to the level of threat and concerns for his safety.  Another synod member screamed abuse at him in the corridor. And his bishop reports him to the police for hate crimes. 

Condemning the Church of England decision to bless gay partnerships, Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba of the Church of Uganda declared,

The archbishop affirmed that the Church of Uganda would remain faithful to the Biblical teaching on ‘lifelong, exclusive marriage between one man and one woman,’ refusing to accept or bless sexual sins. He condemned the Church of England as departing this teaching of revelation, saying,

On GB News Rev Calvin Robinson pointed out the danger of a split in the Church of England between GAFCON (the Global Anglican Future Conference) and the Anglican hierarchy because of a ‘false gospel’ departing from biblical teaching in the Church of England. Today, GAFCON represents over 35 million active Anglicans in the worldwide Communion. There are just over 13 million Anglicans in the UK (many of whom are nominal and not practicing the faith). GAFCON is the majority, representing over 75 per cent of Anglicans worldwide.

In a statement released, after the announcement regarding same-sex blessings in the CofE, the Global South, the majority African arm of Anglicans, who will be attending GAFCON, said that the 

This threatens a split in the church between the majority (mainly African congregations) and the minority represented by Archbishops Welby and Cottrell and the C of E Synod.

The WEF’s ‘Polycrisis’

The prophecies of the Bible indicate that the final expression of government before the return of Jesus Christ will be one in which people’s ability to buy and sell (which means to participate in society) will depend on their allegiance to the ruling power of ‘the beast’ of Revelation 13.  Many interpreters of this prophecy see this antichrist government being imposed by a technocratic dictatorship which has the ability to track and control the population using digital technology.  It is also seen that this antichrist system will arise out of the end time crisis threatening the future of humanity.

At the World Economic Forum (WEF) January conference in Davos, Switzerland, the global elite, met to discuss the world situation. According to the official list, 2,658 attendees registered for the event, among them heads of state, business leaders, media tycoons, and academics and heads of global institutions like the UN, NATO, IMF, the World Trade Organisation, World Health Organisation, GAVI (Vaccine Alliance), Religions for Peace, Oxfam, WWF, International Rescue Committee, Blackrock (the world’s largest investment firm), Shell, Amazon, Google as well as many others including leading media organisations. 

The WEF issued a ‘global risks report’ describing the extreme chaos that is gripping our world right now as a polycrisis. They used this term to explain how

In other words the world is in big trouble and needs their help and guidance to sort it out.  In November, at the B20 event (following the G20 event), WEF leader Klaus Schwab said that

Unfortunately, virtually every “solution” on the agenda at Davos for dealing with the ‘polycrisis’ will be bad for most of us (but good for the elite).

A super app for all our data

One such solution is proposed by the Chair of UK Finance Bob Wigley.  He said the UK government will eventually roll out a “super app” that houses each citizen’s combined economic footprint, from credit ratings to know-your-customer details.

This economic digital ID would aim to follow in the footsteps of the widespread adoption of the UK government’s NHS health app.  Speaking at the New Digital Assets and Money Symposium conference in the City of London on 9th February Bob Wigley added:

The set up for making this change in the economic system is already under way. The Bank of England is recruiting staff to implement Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). At the same time the Daily Express carried a report on the ‘Death of High Street bank’ as branches around the country are being closed. 

This raises the prospect of a cashless society in which traditional bank accounts will be taken over and everyone will be put on a CBDC database.  This can be controlled by the government, which can, in the worst case scenario, seize your assets and control your ability to buy and sell.  People then become dependent on the government which can track and trace every payment they make and in certain circumstances stop them being able to make any payments. 

With CBDCs, those in control will be able to programme the digital money so it can only be spent in some places; and put a time limit on the money that will cause it to reset to zero if not spent by a certain deadline. This is the Great Reset, the end of freedom and the control of the Antichrist as in Revelation 13.

¹¹ Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. ¹² And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. ¹³ He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. ¹⁴ And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. ¹⁵ He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Revelation 13.11-17

15 minute cities

Add to this we now have the phenomenon of 15 minute cities.  Plans by Oxfordshire County Council include 15-minute neighbourhoods and low-traffic neighbourhoods in Oxford. There are also plans put forward for London, Bristol, Canterbury, Sheffield, Swansea and the whole of Scotland.  Oxford is one of the 1,143 cities and local governments around the world that have joined C40’s ‘Cities Race to Zero (Carbon)’ “working urgently toward a decarbonised economy” in order to ‘take urgent action to confront the climate crisis.’  C40 has 96 global cities in its network, making up more than 20% of the global economy, including most major cities – London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Istanbul, New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Wuhan, Tokyo.

Supporters of the 15 minute cities claim it is based on an enlightened approach to urban design and cutting back on pollution and traffic congestion by creating zones in cities where all that you need is within a 15 minute walk or cycle ride or public transport. It aims to limit the use of private cars with the ultimate aim of reducing car use altogether.  Environmentalists claim this is the answer to urban planning. 

Opponents of the scheme say it is a first step in the plan to control where people live, where they go and what they do.  Ultimately digital passports will be introduced to include our use of carbon with the aim of limiting the amount we can use (and how much we can travel) in order to save the planet from supposed climate change. 

There is a growing resistance to the scheme at grass roots level from those who see it as another way to tax us more and raise the cost of living while at the same time removing our rights and freedoms.  On 9 February, in the House of Commons Nick Fletcher, MP for Don Valley, called for MPs’ time to be set aside

Information control

The Trusted News Initiative is a powerful partnership that includes organisations such as the BBC, Associated Press, AFP, First Draft, Google/YouTube, Twitter, Reuters, Financial Times, Meta (Facebook) European Broadcasting Union, CBC/Radio-Canada, The Hindu, Microsoft, and The Washington Post.  There is indignation that Elon Musk is trying to take Twitter out of the partnership. 

The Expose newsletter dubbed this initiative ‘The Ministry of Truth’ as in the propaganda arm of the Party in George Orwell’s 1984

It claims this network quickly established a set of strict standards and guidelines for news organizations to follow, with the goal of ensuring that only information approved by powerful Governments and other institutions, such as the BBC, the UN and the World Economic Forum (WEF) reached the public.  Those who do not conform to this programme will not be given a platform to share their views on this network. Scientists and experts in various fields were also brought under their purview, arguing that their research and findings needed to be “vetted” for accuracy and bias.  This approach was highly successful in curbing the spread of information that questioned the official narrative during the Covid crisis.  Scientists and experts who doubted the wisdom of the lockdown / mass vaccination strategy were effectively silenced, with any research or findings that didn’t align with the Government’s narrative on Covid-19 being dismissed as fake news.

A mass of information has been collected questioning the effectiveness of lockdowns and of the vaccines and also drawing attention to the negative results of MRNA vaccines on many people (failure to prevent vaccinated people catching and passing on Covid, increase in death rate amongst triple vaccinated, heart attacks, strokes, sudden death among young and healthy people, damage to natural immune system etc).   Some of this comes from official sources themselves (including Pfizer and the US Centre for Disease Control), but it is rarely if ever broadcast on these networks. 

Often those who make these claims find themselves deleted and labelled as ‘conspiracy theorists’ spreading fake news.   This has led to a society where people are afraid to speak out, where Governments have too much control over what people can know and think, and where free speech and independent thinking are stifled. 

Turkey – Syria earthquake

The terrible earthquake that has struck Turkey and Syria has cost over 41,000 lives (figure at the time of writing).  Millions have been made homeless and forced to live outside in the bitter cold which has afflicted the region. 

In Syria the earthquake has added to the misery of people already suffering after years of war, ISIS and al Nusra Front terrorism and the bombardment of their homes by the Assad regime and the Russian air force.  In Turkey there have been accusations of corruption and negligence by builders, as well as claims that the government has failed to implement building regulations needed to make apartment blocks withstand earthquakes without collapsing.

Amidst all the gloom and suffering, social media published an incredible story of a 6-year-old girl who was pulled out of the rubble.  A journalist asked her if she was hungry and offered her food.  She replied she had just eaten, having been fed by a man with a white beard while she was trapped under the rubble.  She even stated that the man carried the building on his back to prevent it from falling down on her.  Hard to verify this story but if true it offers some hope in the sorrow of another sign of the end times (increase in earthquakes / Matthew 24.7) taking place.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

Matthew 24.7