WOMAN DEAD FOR 23 HOURS IN HELL REPORTS SEEING MICHAEL JACKSON, POPE JOHN PAUL II AND MANY OTHER CELEBRITIES

Angelica Elizabeth Zambrano Mora, aged 18 from Ecuador wrote Prepare to Meet Your God and in it, she talks about being dead for 23 hours and finding herself in hell among many celebrities that include Michael Jackson the singer and Pope John Paul II. The woman testifies (watch the original video testimony at the end of the article) that she was taken by Jesus to pay a visit to Hell and Heaven and talks about the famous people that she saw in Hell, about the glories of heaven and the rapture and end of times VISIT HELL AND BACK REVEALED FAMOUS CELEBRITIES The woman said that the Lord had told her that there were many famous people in Hell and many who had known about the Lord and he had said that he was going to show her another part of the furnace. She went on to describe a place and seeing a woman surrounded by flames and she was tormented and begging for mercy from the Lord. 

The woman said how the Lord had signaled the woman with his hand and said to her you see that woman there in the flames, it is Selena. They then walked closer to the woman and she was shouting and screaming to be shown mercy and to be taken out of the place. The Lord was said to have looked at the woman and said that it was too late to repent. MORA WAS TOLD TO TELL HUMANITY ABOUT HELL Mora then said that the woman asked her to go and tell the whole of humanity about what she had seen and tell them not to venture to that place, she said that Mora should tell people not to listen to the songs the woman had sung or sing any of her songs. Mora then asked the woman why and was given the reply that every time people listen to or sing her songs she was tormented even more. She also said that people who listen to the songs she recorded when she was alive would be coming to the same place. Mora then said that she had looked far away and that she had seen many demons, all of which had been spilling out what looked to be rain. She asked the Lord what it was that she was seeing and he said that it was people in flames and they were shouting to help them. The demons were said to be laughing and their flames kept increasing. 

Mora went on to say that there was brimstone and this helped to multiply the flames along with increasing the anguish of the people and this made the demons laugh even more. The Lord told Mora that it was the wages of people who had not repented. She went on to say that the Lord had taken her to a place where there was a man who was very well known. Mora said that she had lived a life of a young Christian girl and had the belief that when people died they went to heaven, but that she had found out she was wrong. MORA SAID SHE SAW POPE JOHN PAUL II IN HELL After the death of Pope John Paul II she was told that he was now in heaven and he was resting in peace with the angels. However, she reported that she had seen him in hell and he was being tormented as he had not repented. Mora said that she had asked the Lord why he was there and the Lord said that while he used to preach to many people, he did not speak the truth and he preferred money to preaching about salvation. The Lord said that the Pope had refused to believe that hell was real and now he found out that it does. Mora then said that the Lord had shown her a big screen that showed the life of Pope John Paul II and the Lord said that there were many idolaters in the place. She went on to say that while she was talking she saw a great deal of money and the pope had so much of it. The Lord then told her to tell humanity about what she had seen and told them that it was time for them to turn to him. CHAINED PEOPLE WERE MAKING THEIR WAY TO HELL, INCLUDING MICHAEL JACKSON The Lord then showed Mora a tunnel and there were lots of people walking through it all with chains on their feet and hands. They were also carrying loads on their backs and the Lord told her that the people did not know him yet. Mora then noticed that some of her family members were in the line and the Lord told her to go and tell them that they were walking to hell. He said that he had chosen Mora to be the watchman, so she had, to tell the truth. The Lord then said that many famous and very important people were coming to hell and one of them was a man that had been known around the world and that in actual fact he was a Satanist. This man was said to be Michael Jackson. The Lord said that he had made agreements with the devil so that he could have fame and fans. The Lord said that the dances that Jackson was known for were the way demons walk when they are tormenting the people in hell. Mora insisted that the Lord had shown her Michael Jackson and he was being tormented in the flames. The Lord said that people should not play his songs and sing them. Mora said that the Lord had told her that she should go and tell people that he was waiting for them and that they should surrender to him and he would provide them with rest. He then showed her a tunnel into which many thousands of people were dropping into an abyss and souls were falling at a rapid pace. The Lord told Mora that that was how humanity perishes and he cried.

India Forcing Hindu Identity on 71 Christian Children, Refuse to Recognize Parents' Christianity

A number of children in central India have been detained by authorities and told that their families illegally converted to Christianity.

Crux Now reported on Tuesday that the incidents took place earlier in May in the heavily Hindu Madhya Pradesh state. In one instance, on May 21, 60 children between the ages of 13 to 15 traveling to a Christian summer camp in Nagpur were detained by police.

While the children were later released to their parents, their nine chaperones were charged with "attempted conversion," despite the fact that the children came from Christian families.

A day later, another two male chaperones were charged with the same crime, after trying to take 11 children to the same camp.

Officials have argued that their parents didn't follow the proper procedures in converting to Christianity, and so the children are considered Hindus under the law.

"For changing to another religion, one needs to submit a written application to the district collector and only after the stipulated process, a person can change religious identity, which didn't happen in the case of any of the parents claiming to be Christians," police superintendent Krishnaveni Desavatu said.

"This is why, the children and their parents will be officially treated as Hindu tribals and not Christians," he added.

Christians, who are a rising but still distinct minority in India, have faced a number of radical Hindu attacks in villages across the country in recent years, with Indians converting to Christianity facing great controversy and hostility for their decision.

Paul Robinson, the chief executive of Release International, said earlier in May that hardliners are also attempting to punish Christians and pressure them to abandon their faith.

"In states across India, militants have threatened and killed church workers," Robinson said at the time.

"Extremists have tried to force Christians to renounce their faith and convert to Hinduism. And they have bombed, torched, vandalized and demolished churches," he added.

Strict anti-conversion laws in five states have additionally made it much harder for people to share their Christian faith, as missionary or evangelistic activities are being met with suspicion by nationalists.

"It's based on the idea that conversion by force should be made illegal. I think everyone would agree that conversion by force would be useless," Andrew Boyd of Release International added.

"But actually, if you preach about Heaven then it's considered to be bribery; if you speak about Hell then it's considered to be a threat. If you offer any kind of Christian charity then it's regarded also as bribery."

A number of Christians in tribal villages reported in April that they were being punished for  attending church, and some were forced to convert back to Hinduism.

"They can stop me from going to church but they cannot take Jesus from my heart. I will find ways and secretly come to church," one man named Shivaram Tekam told a local pastor.

International Christian Concern, a persecution watchdog group, said that as many as 15 Christian families were forced to reconvert to Hinduism by elders in the Junwani village of Chhattisgarh.

Kirk Cameron Reveals His Vision for America, Warns US Will Experience Financial, Moral Decline

Kirk Cameron has revealed his vision for the future of America and warned that the country will experience "financial and moral decline" if it continues to move away from the principles it was founded upon.

"You can't help but hear Martin Luther King's voice in your head: That our country becomes a place where we would judge people by their character and not the color of their skin," Cameron told The Gospel Herald when asked about his hope for America. "And, I would add that faith in God and a dependence upon the goodness of God would also be at the center of that."

Cameron, a well known Christian actor and producer who shot to fame in the 1980's while starring in the sitcom "Growing Pains", said he believes the country's future is bright - but to succeed, it must return to its founding principles.

"Abraham Lincoln said -- and I'm paraphrasing -- we've become so strong and prosperous and admired by so many, but our problem is that we've forgotten what made us this way," Cameron said. "We've forgotten that this comes as a gift from God because of our reliance on him and our willingness to follow his ways. We need to get back to that."

The actor added, "America is full of hope if we understand those vital truths. All of the founders understood...the golden triangle of freedom. Freedom requires virtue, and virtue requires genuine faith. That faith has to be free, not forced or coerced. And that, of course, requires virtue.

Cameron is so passionate about bringing revival to America, he hosted a live worship and prayer experience, appropriately titled "Revive Us 2016", on Oct. 18 -- just ahead of the presidential election. Tens of thousands of people united for "Revive Us" to pray for America to be a nation of faith again, led by Dr. Ben Carson, Pastor Francis Chan, Eric Metaxas, Dr. James MacDonald and other notable Christian leaders.

"Last year, running up presidential election, I was traveling all across country, and I was hearing parents saying they were concerned about their children; that our country was off track; that we were in last days of America as a godly nation," the "Fireproof" actor said of why he decided to call a "national family meeting".

"I was so encouraged, because three weeks after 'Revive Us', we had the presidential election, and it was the largest turnout of evangelicals and pro-life Catholic Christians in history. Christian were saying, 'I care about the culture and the future of my children, so I must be salt and light and not hide under a basket, but let it shine in practical, tangible ways like voting for our leaders.' People did that in record numbers this year, and that's the kind of engagement that can make a difference."

On May 16, "Revive Us" arrives on home video -- and later this year, "Revive Us 2017" hits 800 theaters across America. In addition to Dr. Carson and Chan, inspirational speakers this year include Ravi Zacharias and Joni Eareckson Tada, among others. The theme: "Finding Unity in a Divided World".

Cameron told GH: "The further and further any group of people and any nation move away from those ancient truths that we find in God's word and the original principles that our nation was founded on, we're going to experience moral and financial decline. We'll experience a breakdown in our families and every kind of thing that makes life more difficult."

He added, "'Revive Us' is really an opportunity for us to say, 'what can we do? What's the problem?  Why are we experiencing division and difficulty? How do we find the blessing and protection of God?' That's what 'Revive Us' is about. When the family of faith comes together and the spirit of God is moving, there's nothing we can't do. We're unstoppable."

Pakistani Christian Denied Refugee Status Dies in Detention Center in Thailand

A Pakistani Christian refugee who was not given proper medical attention died at a detention center in Thailand on Saturday.

Ijaz Tariq, 34 years old, reportedly complained of chest pains but immigration officials would not take him to a hospital. He died a few hours later from a heart attack while in his cell at the Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok, UCA News reported.

Immigration officials and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) earned intense criticism from the Pakistani Christian community.

Pakistan Christian Congress (PCC) president Dr. Nazir Bhatti said the death of Tariq and the IDC's refusal to grant him medical assistance were a "violation of human rights for which UNHRC Bangkok office and Thailand government are equally responsible."

"I am sending memorandum to Human Right Commission of UN in Geneva about violation of human rights by Thailand government on arrest of Pakistani Christian Asylum seekers and not providing medical assistance to detainees in IDC Bangkok," Bhatti said in a statement to Pakistan Christian Post.

Like other refugees in Thailand, Tariq was arrested for violating immigration laws. He was not allowed the right of bail. On Friday, just one day before he died, UNHCR Bangkok denied him refugee status.

Bhatti blamed the UNHCR for hiring Sunni Muslim Pakistani translators "who are employees of ISI and IB of Pakistan government." He accused the translators of intentionally misinterpreting Pakistani Christians' words to make their interviews unsuccessful.

According to Bhatti, the UNHCR is fully aware of what the translators are doing. He said he would forward Tariq's case to the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva. He urged the Thai government to allow Pakistani Christian refugees to post bail and to protect their rights, especially those who are detained for minor immigration charges.

Tariq was not the first Pakistani Christian asylum seeker to have suffered unjust treatment from Thai immigration authorities and the UNHCR. Last year, Naushad Young came close to dying from a heart condition because of "negligence of U.N. and and cold-heartedness of the Thai authorities," according to Christians in Pakistan.

"Pakistani Christians who get hooked by the Thai Immigration authorities have had to face pathetically callous treatment in the Immigration Detention Centers in Bangkok," Christians in Pakistan reported.

A refugee named Zahid Younas said Young and his family arrived in Thailand in 2013 and applied for refugee status.

"However, as Thailand refuses to sign UN conventions for asylum his official status with the Royal Thai Government is 'visa overstayer' despite having registered under the UNHCR process and having official documents," Younas told British Pakistani Christian Association.

Refugees who end up detained in IDC suffer from various problems like malnutrition, infections, harassment and hygiene problems. Overcrowding in the cells force some inmates to sleep standing up or crouching, BPCA said.

On February 2016, a report released by the BBC revealed that Thailand "routinely arrests and detains asylum seekers," particularly Pakistani Christians, including children, who entered the country to flee from religious persecution in their home country.

"They are held despite being UN-registered asylum seekers, whom the UN is under a duty to protect," the BBC reported.

‘Dead for 90 Minutes’: Doctor Says Miracle Recovery Unlike Anything He’s Ever Seen

A doctor was left stunned last year after a patient who plummeted down a staircase and “effectively died” for 90 minutes was “brought back from the dead” — and survived.

The fascinating scenario surrounds a Maryland man named T.J. Scanlon, 32, who fell down a flight of stairs last March after coming home after a night out with friends, CBS News reported.

The traumatic fall happened as he was searching for his keys, lost his balance and fell down a 20-foot staircase, laying in a pool of blood for two days before a co-worker and roommate finally found him barely alive.

Scanlon was in bad shape. His legs were gray and black and his skin was blue when his friends discovered him. When he was rushed to the hospital, paramedics and doctors realized the gravity of the situation.

Then, Scanlon essentially died for an hour and a half before being brought back to life — something both he and medical professionals believe was a miracle.

“He was effectively dead for 90 minutes. This is a case like I have never seen before,” Dr. H. Neal Reynolds of the University of Maryland Medical Center told WJZ-TV. “This man was brought back from the dead.”

Despite Scanlon’s harrowing survival, the fallout from the injury was quite serious. He lost some fingertips as well as his left leg, he was paralyzed from the chest down due to an injury to his spinal cord and he had to endure 29 surgeries, as CBS News noted.

“I don’t even remember the first three weeks in the hospital,” Scanlon told the Boston Herald. “Seeing pictures of where I was 11 months ago, it’s crazy to me.”

Despite the intense health challenges, Scanlon said he’s working toward recovery and rehabilitation and that he believes strongly in faith.

“I think for whatever reason, I was meant to be there that night,” he told CBS News. “But I was meant to survive. I was meant to carry on.”

Enormous Explosion Rocks Kabul Killing 80, Wounding Hundreds

A suicide bombing rocked the capital of Afghanistan Wednesday morning, killing at least 80 people in a massive explosion in the heart of Kabul.   

At least 350 people are seriously hurt and most of the victims are civilians, including women and children.

The bomb went off during rush hour in a highly secure diplomatic area. Numerous embassies were damaged, including Japan's, Turkey's, and India's. The neighborhood had been considered one of the safest areas in the city.

The attack has left a scene of chaos and destruction and is being considered one of the worst the city has ever seen.

The BBC says a driver for the broadcaster was killed and four of its journalists were injured in the massive car bombing.

The Afghan Taliban are denying any involvement and no group has claimed responsibility yet.

Even though the Taliban claim they are only waging war against the Kabul government and foreign forces in Afghanistan, most of the casualties of their attacks have been civilians.

60 Days, 62 Dead in Desperate Venezuelan Uprising

In the second month of almost daily protests against Venezuela's socialist government, thousands of opposition supporters marched towards the center of the capital Caracas Tuesday, only to be tear-gassed.

 

Even opposition leader Henrique Capriles was gassed and had to be helped from the scene.

Venezuelan citizens have grown desperate amid shortages of basic necessities.

 

One elderly woman who was tear gassed said, "I am sick, I have been searching for the medicine that I can't find, but the police are upset because people want to gather on a street corner to protest."

 

At least 62 people have been killed in the two month-long confrontation and another 1,100 people have been injured.

 

Thousands of young demonstrators, calling themselves "The Resistance" have been on the streets fighting for democracy, willing to do "whatever it takes" to win the fight against the dictatorship of President Nicolás Maduro.

 

Venezuela's crisis is man-made; a socialist regime introduced terrible economic policies and took away human rights.

 

Severe shortages of food and medicine along with hyperinflation have Venezuelans yearning for what they once had, and what most other Latin American nations take for granted.

 

Once South America's richest country and awash in oil, Venezuela's government under Hugo Chavez and Nicholas Maduro took less than two decades to destroy the nation's democracy and economy.

 

It is has been officially declared to be a dictatorship by The Organization of American States.

 

And dictatorships run this badly need a lot of tear gas.

 

Islamic War Rages in Philippines as ISIS Overruns City, Murders Christians

Islamic radicals who have besieged much of a southern city in the Philippines are trying to establish a regional branch of ISIS in that country.

The Philippine military says the radicals include foreign fighters and local gunmen.

The military is conducting air strikes, trying to regain control of the city of Marawi that has been overrun by ISIS.

Marawi is located on the island of Mindanao, where more than 100 people have died and 70,000 have fled since terrorists launched their attack.

Among the dead are nine Christians who were murdered merely for being followers of Jesus Christ.

A Catholic priest who was taken hostage by the ISIS jihadists says he's being held along with 200 other captives, including children.

In a video taken by the jihadists, Father Teresito Suganob says under duress that his captors want the military to withdraw its forces from Marawi.

Philippines troops have carried out "precision attacks" with tanks and rocket launchers to target the radicals. Since they're attempting to avoid civilian casualties it's more difficult to destroy the ISIS fighters.

The island of Mindanao has long been a base for local Islamic radicals in the Philippines, and government officials say they're also getting outside help.

Philippine soldiers have taken control of about 70 percent of the city.

The head of the Philippine military says three Malaysians, an Indonesian and a possible Arab extremist were killed before they could to murder an entire Christian village in an audacious ISIS-style plot.

Gen. Eduardo Ano says the jihadists plotted to set Marawi ablaze and kill as many Christians as possible in nearby Iligan city on Ramadan to create fear by mimicking the terror seen by the world in Syria and Iraq.
 

‘Miracle Boy’ Survives after Nine Minutes Underwater

In what's being called a "miracle," a 4-year-old boy in England is expected to make a full recovery after falling into a swimming pool and being underwater for nine minutes. 

John-Henry Birtle and his parents were on vacation when he was discovered at the bottom of a hotel pool.

His mother, Roseann, jumped in and pulled him out. The Newark Advertiser reports a hotel staff member gave the boy CPR for 20 minutes before he had a pulse. 

Roseann told the newspaper that her son went without oxygen for 28 minutes.

"For those 28 minutes he was gone," she said. "Doctors said he won't have a good quality of life, he would not walk or talk or be able to recognize us, but he proved them all wrong and actually walked out of hospital five weeks later."

"We were praying the whole time the lady was giving him CPR, and I had faith that God was going to heal him. He is my miracle boy," Roseann continued.

The Newark Advertiser reports that after the February incident, John-Henry was on life support for 13 days before being transferred to another hospital for specialized treatment.

"All the clinical staff, the nurses, speech therapists, the physio team and occupational therapy team have been absolutely fantastic," Roseann said. 

'God Protected Me': 'Miracle Man' Survives Explosion, Returns to Preach

An Alaskan evangelist is not letting what doctors call a near-death experience stop him from preaching the Gospel. 

Jimmy Stewart is being called the "miracle man" after a gas leak explosion left him with third-degree burns on more than 77 percent of his body. 

Although the 59-year-old former athlete looks different, his heart to share Jesus has not changed. 

Just seven months after his accident he returned to his position as the evangelism and church growth director at Alaska Baptist Church in Anchorage and is sharing his testimony.

"It truly was a miracle that I survived the initial explosion and fire," Stewart told Baptist Press. "The first 48 hours in the hospital were critical. God protected me and sustained me… I believe God did many miracles."

In July, Stewart crawled under his home to check the source of a gas leak in the crawl space of his family's cabin. 

Stewart told BP News that a gas tank exploded and blew open the cabin while his family members were inside. He said he took the brunt of the explosion and described the fire as a "flash bang" that miraculously extinguished in seconds. 

"Visqueen (plastic sheeting) covered me, melted from the blast, and flesh was hanging from my body," Stewart said.

Stewart had the strength to run and check on his family but later learned the fire burned his skin white, took his hair, burned his chest and shredded his pants.  

He was flown to Harbor View Medical Center and spent the next nine months recovering before being discharged in November 2016.

His wife Kathryn said she relied on prayer support and encouragement from friends and family during that time. 

"I just always felt He had it in His hands," she said. "We never had any doubt even in the difficult times."

Shortly after his release he escorted his daughter Katelyn down the aisle for her wedding, officiated the ceremony and danced with her during the father-daughter dance. 

It has been a busy season despite having 20 surgeries and daily physical therapy.

Still, neither his family or friends focus on the scars or his physical pain, but rather, they are praising God for answering their prayers for healing.

"You know Brother Jimmy, before the accident you were handsome and strong," Rebekah Kim, wife of Southern Baptist leader Paul Kim, said. "But now God is shining through you and you are more beautiful."

"God has used these statements to encourage me, and I don't mind if it took a little fire to make me more beautiful," Stewart said in a February testimony at First Baptist Church in Anchorage. 

"I'll say this, more people have been drawn to me in a kind, compassionate way, than the opposite. And people walk up to me and ask me about the story, and I get to share Christ as a result," he added. 

PROPHECY WATCH: ‘The Temple Mount Is in Our Hands!’ Hope Reborn for the Third Temple

JERUSALEM, Israel – The capture of Jerusalem's Temple Mount 50 years ago sent shockwaves throughout the Jewish world. It also raised hopes for the building of the third temple.

On June 7, 1967, Israeli Brigade Commander Col. Motta Gur made an announcement that Jews had waited to hear for some 2,000 years.

"The Temple Mount is in our hands! The Temple Mount is in our hands!" he declared.

Retaking this ground was important for a number of reasons. For one, it's where King Solomon built the first Jewish temple. After the Babylonians destroyed it, Zerubbabel (the head of the tribe of Judah when the Israelites returned from the Babylonian exile) laid the foundation stone for a second temple that was later expanded by King Herod. That temple fell in 70 AD at the hands of the Romans.

When Commander Gur declared the Temple Mount was back in Jewish hands, it rekindled hope for a long-awaited Third Temple.

"The Six-Day War was a miracle of biblical proportions and was a cataclysmic opening of a new era for Israel and the whole world," Rabbi Chaim Richman told CBN News.  

Rabbi Richman, director of the International Department at The Temple Institute, is dedicated to rebuilding the Jewish temple. He sees the time since the Six-Day War as a prophetic shift.

"It would be hard, I think, not to see what's happened in the past 50 years as a tremendous – not just fulfillment of prophecy – but a tremendous jump start, a tremendous fast forward," Richman said. "It's more than prophetic. It's like a kiss from Heaven. It's like a divine kiss. It's like an intimate brush with the reality of God's compassion and love. He keeps His promises."

The Institute shares a key connection to the battle for Jerusalem. Its founder, Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, served with the 55th Paratroopers Brigade that captured the Temple Mount. After the victory, a Jordanian guide gave them a remarkable tour.

"His job was to carry the company machine gun," Richman explained. "There's a very beautiful photograph of that. He actually – the first night of the liberation of Jerusalem – he was given the task of guarding over the spot of the Dome of the Rock, which of course is where is the Holy of Holies.  

"The story, though, that he told us is that the soldiers were on the Temple Mount and it was just like the first hour or so. And they were approached by a Jordanian fellow in Western dress who explained that he was the official tour guide for the Jordanian parliament and he offered to take the soldiers and to show them the sites on the Temple Mount.

"He takes the soldiers, you know, and the rabbi there and he says, 'well this is exactly where the sanctuary stood. This is where the altar stood and then this is where the Menorah stood.'  

"He tells them all these things about the history of the Holy Temple … Finally, the rabbi asked him, 'why are you telling us all this?'  And he said, 'well, we have tradition from our fathers [and] they from their fathers that one day the Jews would wage a war and conquer this mountain and rebuild the Holy Temple, and I assume that you're starting tomorrow. I want this to be my part, my part in helping you,'" he said, according to Rabbi Richman.

"What was their reaction to that story?" CBN News asked Richman. "Well, I guess they were pretty surprised, but the bottom line is in hindsight; it doesn't look like we were ready."

Now, 50 years later, that's changed with the Temple Institute preparing blueprints and gathering official temple elements such as the priestly garments. Richman is also dispelling myths about the temple on today's digital loudspeaker: YouTube.

All of this means, talk of rebuilding the temple is no longer considered a fringe idea.

"Today there's a lobby in the Knesset of how many members of Knesset that are constantly speaking about Jewish rights to pray on the Temple Mount," Richman continued. "There are members of Knesset that actually talk about the rebuilding the Holy Temple.  Do you realize that 20 years ago these people wouldn't have been given a moment on prime time television to say these things. They would have been laughed out.

One of those Knesset members is Rabbi Yehuda Glick.

"So a few years ago this was considered fringe – zealots, lunatics, peculiar. Today it's mainstream.  Ten years ago, there was not a single member of Knesset who ascended the Temple Mount," Glick told CBN News. "Today we have 20 Knesset members who are interested in ascending Temple Mount, praying on Temple Mount and are part of the redemption of the Temple Mount and bringing the Temple Mount back into the center of the next step in the redemption process."

Richman sees the temple through the eyes of the prophet Isaiah who wrote 3,000 years ago that God's house would be called a house of prayer for all nations

"Even them I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." (Isaiah 66:7)

"It means there's a God in the world and that the best is yet to come – and that we are so connected to Him and to each other and to that purpose and to all humanity and it's just a wonderful privilege to be with you today looking out over Jerusalem and to realize that we're living in probably the most important time in history," he continued.

"If you believe in the God of Israel and you see His hand on His people and you understand the tremendous changes that have gone on over the years, you see that the One who brought us this far isn't finished and will keep His promises."

In October 2014, an Arab resident of Jerusalem shot Glick at point blank range, nearly killing him. The would-be assassin fled to a predominately Arab neighborhood of Silwan, where he was killed after opening fire on Israeli forces. Glick spent nearly a year in the hospital, sustained by his strong faith. He eventually regained full health.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un Is Terrified of These 2 Bible Passages, Sen. Lankford Says

WASHINGTON — The Kim regime in North Korea, which has imprisoned, tortured and even killed thousands of Christians, is terrified of the Gospel, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told North Korean freedom activists gathered on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

As North Korea continues to rank as the top persecutor of Christians in the world, Lankford and other GOP congressmen spoke during International Christian Concern's 2017 Capitol Hill advocacy day, which this year focused solely on the human rights abuses that have occurred under the Kim regime.

Lankford, the co-chair of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, approached the podium carrying his Congress members' Bible study Bible.

"It's amazing to me that when I walked up to the dais, I walked up holding this [Bible]," Lankford said. "If I did the same thing speaking in North Korea, this would give me a hard time. It would be longer if I handed it to you."

Although North Korea has some state-run front churches designed to have people think that religion is allowed in the communist country, the practice and worship of real Christianity and other real religions is illegal in North Korea.

The thousands of Christians who participate in the underground house church movement and Christians who evangelize run the risk of being arrested and thrown into labor camps and tortured along with other people of faith, political enemies of the Kim regime and those who advocate for freedom. Hundreds of thousands of prisoners have died since the Kim regime came to power in 1948.

"I'm astounded by that. I am astounded by that as a Christian myself. But I am astounded by that because [sharing the Gospel] attracts the fear of Kim Jong Un and that regime," Lankford said. "I think about the words that are in this book and how terrified they are of this book. I think about some of the things that it says."

Lankford continued by citing the passage of Matthew 22:37-40.

"The regime is terrified of statements like this, where Jesus said to them all, 'You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets,'" Lankford said. "The Kim regime is terrified of that statement. It's just a simple statement but here is what [God] demands — to be able to love God and to be able to love your neighbor."

He also cited 1 Timothy 2: "Paul writes to Timothy and he says to him, 'I encourage that prayers, entreaties, petitions and thanksgiving be made on behalf of all men — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and in dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.'" 

Lankford summarized that "our first calling" of the Gospel is to be able to love our neighbor," and "to love God." He added that the calling from Paul tells people to "show respect and live quiet and dignified lives."

"That is the subversive text that the regime is terrified of and that is astounding to me," he added.

In a panel discussion later in the day, Greg Scarlatoiu, an expert on the human rights abuses in North Korea who has led in the publication of at least 24 reports and books on the subject, offered his explanation for why the Kim regime fears Christianity.

Scarlatoiu, who is also the executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, said that one of the largest reasons why the Kim regime has a disdain for Christianity is because of its threat to the regime's ability to control information.

"North Korea today is a post-communist, post industrial, kleptocratic dynasty that holds an absolute monopoly over political power at home. This is not a criminal kleptocratic cartel, this is an absolute monopoly. There are no competitors inside the country," he said. "The only competitor is, on the one hand, Christianity. And on the other hand, free, prosperous, democratic Republic of Korea [South Korea]."

"[Christianity] offers an alternative set of beliefs, an alternative way of life, a way of life that does not tolerate tyranny," he continued. "The North Korean regime fears Christianity because it offers a venue for the exchange of ideas. Remember, this regime has maintained its power through information control, through an absolute overwhelming level of coercion, control, surveillance and punishment that is executed by 270,000 agents in three eternal security agencies — a vast network of informers."

Open Doors USA has ranked North Korea as the No. 1 worst country in the world when it comes to the persecution of Christians for 16 years in a row on its World Watch List.

"For those of us in government, it is our responsibility to press everywhere we can," Lankford said.

He suggested that Western governments should place travel restrictions on North Korean officials. He added that banks should be threatened with loss of U.S. business if they do business with North Korea. Additionally, he thinks there should be a ban on the sale of luxury goods to North Korean officials.

"While we are limited in the things that we can do, we should do all that we can do to be able to apply pressure to the leadership of North Korea until they have opened up one of the most basic human dignities — the right to be able to believe in your heart and to be able to pursue God," Lankford stated.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-is-terrified-of-these-2-bible-passages-sen-lankford-says-185086/#VLZPFkEvJZxlvlY4.99

Murdered Coptic Christians, Including Children, Were Asked to Deny Faith in Jesus but Refused

According to a chaplain, Friday's massacre of 29 Coptic Christians who were on their way to a monastery in Egypt occurred after Islamic radicals marched them off the bus one by one and asked them to deny their faith in Jesus Christ.

A priest identified as Father Rashed, a chaplain for one of the groups comforting the survivors of the attack, said in an article in Breitbart News on Sunday that 10 masked Islamic State militants did not simply open fire on the bus on its way to the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor.

Instead, the IS radicals apparently stopped the bus, made the victims walk out, and asked each of them, including the children, whether they were Christians.

Rashed explained that the victims "were asked to renounce their Christian faith and profess belief in Islam, but all of them — even the children — refused. Each was killed in cold blood with a gunshot to the head or the throat."

Friday's attack, at the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, was another devastating blow to Egypt's minority Copts, who in the past year have suffered a number of massacres at the hands of radicals, including Palm Sunday church bombings that killed 46 believers.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has tried to assure Coptic Pope Towadros II that the attackers in the latest tragedy will be punished.

The Coptic church has warned that despite the government's efforts, however, IS radicals, who on Saturday took responsibility for the slaughter, "damage Egypt's image and cause Egyptians a great deal of pain."

The Vatican's Pope Francis also highlighted in his speech at St. Peter's Square on Sunday that the Christians were killed specifically for their faith.

"The victims, amongst which were also children, were killed after having refused to renounce their Christian faith," the Roman Catholic Church leader said.

The pontiff, who visited Egypt last month and called for peace, prayed that God "may welcome these courageous witnesses, these martyrs, in his peace and convert the hearts of the terrorists."

U.S. President Donald Trump, who in his election campaign vowed to eradicate IS, condemned on Friday the "merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt," which he said "tears at our hearts and grieves our souls."

"Wherever innocent blood is spilled, a wound is inflicted upon humanity," Trump's statement read. "But this attack also steels our resolve to bring nations together for the righteous purpose of crushing the evil organizations of terror, and exposing their depraved, twisted, and thuggish ideology."

IS has been killing Christians specifically for their faith throughout Egypt, Iraq and Syria. Islamists have murdered Christians for refusing to deny their faith in Jesus on numerous occasions.

One Christian pastor from Syria, identified as Pastor Edward, told The Christian Post earlier this year that the country is getting "torn apart," with evil "all around us."

"There was a man named George who chose not to be hidden by his Muslim neighbor when extremists came looking for Christians. He told his mother Jesus said, 'If you deny me I will deny you.' And he was killed. His mother was not even allowed to bury his body," Edward recalled.

Ungodly Counsel Corrupting Churches

When the widow obeyed the word of Elisha to go around and collect empty vessels from her neighbors the oil was multiplied and sold to pay off her creditors (2 Kin. 4:1-7). The key was the faith of the widow to obey the commandment of Elisha and go and gather empty vessels. This account is a story of financial provision coming from obedience, but it can also be applied spiritually as well.

There will be enough oil (Holy Spirit), grain (the living word of God, fresh manna), spiritual and numerical growth/increase, provision and protection for the churches who will hear and obey the counsel of the Lord in this hour.

Fresh oil will follow the obedience to the counsel of the Lord. Water will be turned to wine when we do what Jesus says (John 2:5). The increase of the oil of the Holy Spirit revives people and causes them to become eternally minded and they become an asset to the church and the work of God. Revived workers are one of the greatest needs of the Church in this hour.

In a great house, there are both vessels of gold and silver, and of wood and clay, some to honor and some to dishonor (2 Tim. 2:20). The honorable vessels who qualify for more oil are those who are empty of themselves. The dishonorable vessels are those who are carnal, full of pride, the wisdom of men and self-sufficiency. There will be little to no oil for them.

Spiritually speaking, we know oil represents the Holy Spirit. In the Parable of the 10 Virgins, they were commanded to go out and buy oil (Matt. 25:1-13). Oil is purchased with money, and money to buy oil represents your life. There must be a surrendering of your life (Luke 14:26) and an emptying of yourself so that you can be filled. Frankly, many in the body of Christ and even pastors are full of themselves. Humility is required to receive the grace that produces the oil of the Holy Spirit in your life (James 4:6). And the measure of the Holy Spirit you will receive is in proportion to your hearing and obeying the Lord's counsel.

Having just enough oil is not enough for the midnight hour and the coming storm. The foolish virgins found that out the hard way. They were unprepared for the coming of the Bridegroom. In addition to oil in our lamps, we need a vessel as the wise virgins possessed for the supply of extra oil.

"Those who were foolish took their lamps, but took no oil with them. But the wise took jars of oil with their lamps" (Matt. 25:3-4).

Too many Christians have just enough or not enough oil. They do just enough or not enough to get by in their relationship with God. They don't seek God. They don't read their Bible much. They don't think about God much. They don't talk to God much. They may do their religious duty and attend church on Sundays, but they don't seek God much during the week. They never fast. They never pray in tongues. They do just enough or not quite enough, but their hearts are cold, and they have no fire. Oil is the fuel for the fire. Oil is what keeps our spiritual motors running well. Make sure you buy extra oil by surrendering your life to the Lord, staying close to Him and living in obedience to what He tells you to do, both through the written Word and the spoken Word.

Sometimes pastors and ministers are to blame for the lack of the supply of oil in the people. Many sheep are not being fed the living word. Many are drying up because there is no flow of the Holy Spirit. Many churches have compromised the Word and are limiting the operations and manifestations of the Holy Spirit. People are bored in church, and at times, pastors are bored themselves. They're bored in their call and lukewarm in their preaching. The ministry has become a job and a means of income for many of them, and they do whatever is necessary to keep the money coming in. There is a better way, but it will cost pastors and churches much to change, especially those who have compromised and built on a wrong foundation. In urgent times, we often need a crucifixion before a resurrection can come.

I see the Lord providing great protection, spiritual and financial increase and multiplication to the praying and uncompromising Church of today. The majority of that increase will come to numerically small churches because their foundation has not been set in stone and can be more easily reset. Conversely, numerically large churches have a foundation and systems built into them that are much more difficult to be broken up, reset and changed in order to accommodate the true counsel of the Lord.

Here's an example of the false counsel that is being prescribed to many pastors today:

Pastors talk to their congregations about connecting with visitors and engaging in community. They go to conferences and they hear things like "Unless your visitors make several friends in the first few months of coming to your church, they will leave." So they make every effort to create community in their churches by building cafes and coffee houses and setting up lounges for people to connect socially. There's nothing wrong with any of those things, but what is your motive? If it's just to have more people to grow your church, to pay for buildings and expand your programs, then you have been corrupted by worldly methods. That is not a gospel motivated church.

True community is created with people who love God's ways and want to be true disciples. It is Christ followers with burning kindred spirits who bond in true community. Can you imagine Peter and John or any of the early apostles sitting down and strategizing about how to keep the 3,000 new converts who came into the church at Pentecost from leaving? Yet this is what many of these church conferences teach you. They had just experienced a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and Peter's message was so freighted with the Spirit of God that it produced genuine repentance and conversion as people began seeking God with all their being. That is how the church is supposed to grow.

There is great temptation out there for pastors who see their churches dwindling to compromise their values and use worldly means to try and grow their churches or keep the people from leaving. But there is no scriptural standard for drawing more people into the local church, or for building a bigger audience, in order to keep the funds coming in to maintain buildings and expand programs. These motives are tainted with man's wisdom that runs the church like a for-profit business.

Here is the word of the Lord: When pastors and ministers restore the pattern of Acts 6:4 in their churches and ministries today they will see a restoration of the protection and multiplication of the work of God.

When we obey the counsel of the Lord there is protection, financial provision and spiritual multiplication for the church. When the disciples obeyed Jesus' instructions to launch out into the deep there was a great catch (Luke 4). After His resurrection, He gave them similar instructions again, but this time it was to cast their net on the other side. Once again, there was a great catch (John 21). Hearing and obeying is all that is required. It's one of the great secrets that runs through the entire Bible, but today men don't pray much, and they don't listen to the counsel of the Lord.

Return to the original pattern and you will see the original results they saw in the gospels and in the book of Acts. Fervent effectual prayer will produce the power of God (James 5:16), which in turn will bring provision, protection and a multiplication to the church.