"And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke."
Joel 2:30

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.
Matthew 16:1-3

For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Matthew 24:24

"Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here [is] the Christ!' or, 'Look, [He is] there!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.
Mark 13:21-23

And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with [them] and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
Mark 16:17-20

And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute [you], delivering [you] up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. Therefore settle [it] in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.

You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put [some] of you to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your patience possess your souls. "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.

For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." Then He spoke to them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.

Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."
Luke 21:11-36

I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass [That] whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.'
Acts 2:19-21

And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
Romans 1:28-32

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains [will do so] until He [fn] is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the [lawless one] is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given [us] everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.
2 Thessalonians 2

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra--what persecutions I endured. And out of [them] all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned [them], and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3



Unseen War: God's Plan to Battle the Spirit of Babylon

www.cbn.com | 02 May 2003


CBN.com - America has succeeded in liberating Iraq from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. But pastor and intercessor Dutch Sheets says the Iraq war was ultimately about God's plan to bring down the spirit of Babylon and open the door for the Gospel to reach Muslims. And even though the U.S. is feeling good about winning the war, Dutch believes America could still miss the big picture and lose out on its destiny. Earlier this week, Pat Robertson spoke with Dutch about how Christians should be praying at this pivotal time in history.

PAT ROBERTSON: This is a special day, April the 29th. This is the day when our first English-speaking American settlers officially launched a new nation. And as we look back on that time and realize we're only four years away from 400 years of our existence, we ask, what is America's destiny? Where does our nation stand before God and what are the spiritual implications of the Iraq war? Well, joining us now from Washington to talk about those questions and more is our dear friend, Dutch Sheets. He's pastor and author of Praying for America. Dutch, always good to have you back with us.

DUTCH SHEETS: Thank you, Pat. Good to be with you.

ROBERTSON: Listen, this land- You pointed out in one of your books about a saying of Marx, that if you could take away a country's history, you could also take away their freedom. We are looking back to the planting of a cross in the Virginia soil almost 400 years ago where this land was dedicated to Jesus. Have we lost our destiny? Have we lost our history?

SHEETS: Well, we certainly haven't lost our history, but I believe we are in great danger of losing our destiny. But I'm grateful that the Lord says He's not only a God who keeps covenant, but keeps mercy. Because I don't think we understand, probably, we don't understand how much we have the right to appeal to the God of covenant to say, "Lord, we have, we make an appeal to you based on the covenants that were made to you years ago." When Nehemiah was trying to restore Jerusalem he said to Sanballat and Tobiah, "You don't have any historical right to this land or this city, but I do." And he was using a justice word. Actually, it was a courtroom judicial term. He said, "I am appealing to God based on the covenant He made with my fathers, and I have a legal right in God to this land; you don't." And we can do that. I think we're in great danger of losing our destiny if we don't do that.

But that's why what you're doing today is important. We have to go back to those early days and say, "Lord, You're a God that keeps covenant, and thank heavens, You're a God that keeps mercy. We're appealing to the God of covenant. We're appealing to You based on Your destiny for this nation, what You said You wanted to do. Not what we want, what You want. And, Lord, based on that, we're asking You to heal this land and restore us, just as You did Israel many times, to our purposes and destiny as a nation."

ROBERTSON: I met just a few days ago with the Foreign Minister of Israel and also the Israeli ambassador. Both of them said, in their opinion, that the Bush administration, this current Bush administration, was the most friendly to Israel maybe since Harry Truman, or maybe ever. And yet, we're talking about a "road map" that is being pushed by the United States of America that will set up a Palestinian state which has never existed, and possibly take away half of Jerusalem. You want to comment on your feelings, and maybe the Lord showed you something about that?

SHEETS: Well, I just, I don't consider myself an expert. My opinion is that it won't happen. I just don't see that in Bible prophecy. I believe that we need to pray diligently that our leaders and our President will not violate what I believe the Scriptures teach, and divide the land. I'm just not an expert on it, but in my heart I believe that if we stand with Israel and keep that land united under them, that we're going to stay in favor with the Lord. The Lord said, "I'm going to bless those that bless you, and I'll curse those that curse you," to Abraham. And I believe that that land belongs to them and that we should pray that way.

ROBERTSON: What about the Iraq War? Have you discerned any significance about this war that you want to share?

SHEETS: Well, yes. I mean, I spent several days and hours praying about it beforehand. I knew we were going to war. I just knew it in my spirit. And I feel that the Lord said to me that this was all about the spirit of Babylon. I believe we've come full circle back to Genesis. That spirit that has arisen from way back in the beginning that has opposed the Lord, that says, "I'm not going to submit to You." And that spirit that goes all the way through Revelation where God says, "Fallen is Babylon the Great." I believe that we are coming into the season where God has determined, "I am now going to deal with the spirit of Babylon." And I believe, Pat, that the spirit of Babylon is the ruling spirit behind Islam.

You know, the Lord loves those people, and I believe that He has very passionate love for them, but we believe that the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. And I believe that God is in the process now of bringing down that stronghold that has blinded people to the Gospel. And I believe we're now coming into the greatest harvest among the Muslim people, that we've heard about for so long, and I believe this is what it's all about. The Lord said to me before we ever went to war, "I have declared war on the spirit of Babylon," and that's when I knew we were going, and I believe that's what it's all about. It's not about a man. It's not about a people. It's about a spirit, and liberating people from that spirit.

ROBERTSON: Dutch has got a book called Praying For America: How Your Prayers Can Change the Course of a Nation. This has been out for a couple years, but it's available now. We can get it to you from our website, CBN.com. And it's always good to have Dutch with us. God bless you.

SHEETS: Thank you, Pat. It's good to be with you.