From breitbart.com

Denzel Washington was baptized and received his minister’s license Saturday as the movie veteran looks to take his life in a new direction after dedicating himself to Christ.

The 69-year-old was baptized by Archbishop Christopher Bryant at the historic Kelly Temple in New York City.

“It took a while, but I’m finally here…If [God] can do this for me, there’s nothing He can’t do for you,” Washington said, according to Bryant. “The sky literally is the limit.”

Bryant shared photos of the moment Washington gave his life to Christ in a Facebook post that read:

We celebrate the addition of Minister Denzel Washington into the clergy, having received his minister’s license in the Church of God in Christ today, in a truly uplifting moment.

He is dressed that way because, in the same service, he received water baptism,” Bryant added. “Both the baptism and the licensing took place at the Historic Kelly Temple in NYC, a place close to his heart. Denzel Washington attended this church as a child and testified to being filled with the Holy Spirit after visiting another church with actor Robert Townsend in the 80s.

Washington recently admitted you “can’t talk” about religion in the entertainment industry.

“When you see me, you see the best I could do with what I’ve been given by my lord and savior,” the Gladiator II star wrote last month for Esquire. “I’m unafraid.”

Washington went into intimate specifics about his full turn toward God in the lengthy biographical sketch published by the magazine.

Clearly now he is happy for his actions to speak just as loudly as his words when it comes to kneeling before Jesus Christ.

HALLELUJAH!!  THANK YOU JESUS!

From jerusalempost.com

The irony of arresting Netanyahu at Auschwitz would be astounding, undermining the very purpose of the commemoration.

Nearly five years ago, as preparations were underway to hold a major event in Jerusalem on January 20, 2020, marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation ofAuschwitz, dozens of world leaders were slated to attend. Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, however,  announced he would not participate because he would not be allowed to speak at the event.

Instead, keynote speeches were to be delivered by then-US Vice President Mike Pence, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

For Duda, the decision to exclude him from speaking was more than a diplomatic slight—it was, he argued, “a distortion of the historical truth,” denying him the chance to honor Polish citizens who perished in the Holocaust.

This sensitivity to “historical truth” raises questions about how Duda might view a potential scenario unfolding today: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being unable to travel to Poland and Auschwitz for an event marking the 80th anniversary of the death camp’s liberation on January 27 because Poland has stated it would honor an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his arrest on alleged war crimes stemming from the October 7 war.

Poland’s deputy foreign minister, Władysław Bartoszewski, told a Polish newspaper on Friday that Netanyahu would indeed be arrested if he came to the ceremony. Think of that: Poland, upon whose soil millions of Jews were killed, would detain the leader of the Jewish state for taking actions to protect the country from those seeking to destroy it. And this is based on an arrest warrant issued by a court that lacks jurisdiction over Israel.

Talk about a distortion of truth — both past and present.

Auschwitz stands as the ultimate symbol of antisemitism, where 1.1 million people were murdered, a million of them Jews. To arrest Netanyahu under an ICC warrant—a move widely viewed in Israel as antisemitic due to its double standards and bias—would send an unconscionable message. For Poland to enforce such a decree, especially at a memorial event for history’s greatest crime of Jew-hatred, is almost unfathomable.

The moral bankruptcy here would be staggering. 

Making noise for noise’s sake?

At this stage, however, it’s important to note that this scenario remains hypothetical. Netanyahu never announced any plans to attend the event  — it is the Polish deputy foreign minister who floated the idea in a newspaper interview —  and it is unclear whether the prime minister would attend even if the ICC case weren’t a factor.

The natural candidate to represent Israel at such a ceremony would be President Isaac Herzog. Indeed, five years ago, a week after the event in Jerusalem, then-President Reuven Rivlin represented Israel at a 75th anniversary commemoration held at Auschwitz. Herzog himself traveled to Poland two years ago to mark the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Israel’s ties with Poland have been tense over the last number of years, making Israeli representation at such events more complex.

Once robust, ties  took a turn for the worse in 2018 when Poland pushed forward legislation criminalizing suggestions that the Poles were complicit in the Holocaust and making it a punishable crime to say “Polish death camps.”

A year later, on a trip to Poland, Netanyahu infuriated the Poles when he was erroneously quoted as saying that “the Poles” collaborated with the Nazis, rather than that “Poles” — implying “some Poles “ — collaborated with them. As a result of this, then-Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki canceled a trip to Israel to take part in a high-level summit.

Two days later, Israel Katz, who had just become foreign minister, exacerbated the crisis even further when he said in relation to the brouhaha: “I am the child of Holocaust survivors, and like every Israeli and Jew, I will not compromise over the memory of the Holocaust. We will not forgive nor forget, and there were many Poles who collaborated with the Nazis. How did Yitzhak Shamir put it – they killed his father – ‘the Poles imbibe anti-Semitism with their mother’s milk.’.”

Relations further deteriorated in 2021 when then-Foreign Minister Yair Lapid recalled Israel’s envoy from Poland over Polish legislation limiting restitution claims for Holocaust victims. Lapid labeled the law “anti-Semitic and unethical” and said, “Poland has become an anti-democratic and illiberal country that does not honor the greatest tragedy in human history.”

Poland responded by recalling its ambassador from Tel Aviv. Though Israel’s envoy returned to Poland a year later, just days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Poland only returned an ambassador to Israel last month.

In other words, just as ties are becoming normal once again, the current scenario risks reigniting tension.

This situation also has implications beyond Israel-Poland relations.

If Poland were to act on the ICC warrant, it could strain its ties with the United States, particularly with a Republican administration poised to take office. US Senator Lindsey Graham recently indicated he is working on legislation to penalize countries that enforce ICC warrants against Israeli officials. Poland’s alignment with the ICC could be seen in Washington as aligning against Israel, an outcome that could complicate its standing with its key ally.

If it turns out that Poland would indeed honor the ICC warrant were Netanyahu to travel to the country — rather than grant him diplomatic immunity as France has said it would do if the prime minister would travel there —  then Israel should not send anyone to the ceremony. This would highlight the absurdity of the situation.

“Auschwitz and Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said at the event in Jerusalem in 2020.  “An abyss and a peak. Auschwitz, extermination; Jerusalem, revival. Auschwitz, enslavement; Jerusalem, freedom. Auschwitz, death; Jerusalem, life.”

Auschwitz, he continued, “is also the ultimate symbol of Jewish powerlessness. It is the culmination of what can happen when our people have no voice, no land, no shield.

“Today, we have a voice, we have a land, and we have a shield. Today, our voice is heard in the White House and in the Kremlin, in the halls of the United Nations and the American Congress, in London, Paris, and Berlin, and in countless capitals around the world.”

If, however, Poland would seriously consider arresting Netanyahu, then it would mean that Israel’s leader would not have a voice at an event commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz.  The irony of that would be astounding, undermining the very purpose of the commemoration and underlining how both historical truth and present-day truth — in Orwellian fashion —  have been flipped on their head. source

Can you just see satan smiling at the very thought of Benjamin Netanyahu being arrested at Auschwitz?

He won’t be smiling for long……

COME LORD JESUS

From raptureready.com

When Christians receive their new body at the Rapture, what will their new body be like?

The Apostle John wrote:

• “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (I Jn. 3:2).

True Christians are already the children of God (members of the body of Christ), and we do not yet know what we shall be in the future (it hasn’t been fully revealed), but we know that when Jesus comes (to resurrect and/or Rapture us), we will be like Him (have a new glorified body like the glorified, resurrected body of Jesus).

The Apostle Paul told the Philippians:

• “For our conversation is in heaven [true Christians are heavenly minded; not of this world; pilgrims passing through]; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ [we are a people of hope or expectancy]:
• Who shall change our vile [corrupted, sinful, mortal, dying] body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body [the glorified body that Jesus has now], according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Phil. 3:20-21).

The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians:

“Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep [the terminal generation of Christians that are alive when the Rapture happens won’t die; see Jn. 11:25-26], but we shall all be changed [every Christian will get a new body],

• In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye [it will happen in the blink of an eye], at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible [deceased Christians will be raised with a body that doesn’t have a sin nature], and we shall be changed [the body of living Christians will be changed].
• For this corruptible [body that has a sin nature] must put on incorruption [put on a body that doesn’t have a sin nature], and this mortal [body that is aging and dying] must put on immortality [put on a body that will never die]. (Note: This must happen because God cannot look upon sin in heaven, and Christians need a body that won’t die if they are going to live forever.)
• So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory [Death and the grave are temporary. The curse of death that came upon Adam and Eve when they ate fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil will be wiped away].
• O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
• The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
• But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory [God will win over death and the grave and pass the victory on to us] through our Lord Jesus Christ” (I COR. 15:51-57).

Those that might question this should know there are various kinds of bodies:

• In the plant world, when seeds are buried, a different body comes out of the ground (corn seeds produce corn stalks, cotton seeds produce cotton stalks, soybean seeds produce soybean stalks, etc.).
• In the animal world, there are various kinds of bodies with various kinds of flesh (a cow’s body is different from a pig’s body, chickens are different from turkeys, etc.; beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and fish are different flesh).
• In the heavens, there are various kinds of bodies (sun, moon, comets, asteroids, etc. and some are more glorious than others).

There are various kinds of bodies and our new body will be more glorious than our old body (give light, reflect light, big, small, etc.; I Cor. 15:35-44).

Jesus was born of a virgin so He would have an incorruptible (no sin nature) body, and He was raised from the dead because He had an immortal body that was not subject to death (Note: He gave up His Spirit or submitted unto death, but He was not subject to death and it could not hold Him: Matt. 28:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46.).

All things are possible with God.

Jesus was God’s proof that sinless, immortal bodies are possible.

This is partly why we celebrate the virgin birth of Jesus at Christmas and the resurrection of Jesus at Easter.

It is also one of the main reasons many Christians believe accepting Jesus as one’s Saviour is the only to be saved (Jn. 14:6).

Jesus is the only one to ever be born with an incorruptible (sinless) body and therefore, the only one qualified to die as a redeemer of others.

Because He lives, Christians are a people of hope.

We can face tomorrow because the grave and death are temporary.

Here are some details leading up to the fall of Damascus.

Here is my update on the fall of Syria.

Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024

• With Turkey’s help (Turkey is a Sunni Muslim nation), several Sunni terrorist groups joined forces under the leadership of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that was once a branch of a terrorist group called al-Qaida and captured about 15 villages in Syria.

Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024

• HTS marched through the Province of Idlib with Syrian troops retreating in front of them.

Friday, Nov. 29, 2024

• HTS attacked Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city.

Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024,

• HTS captured Aleppo.

Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024

• A few Syrian troops started fighting back, others were deserting, Russia had been weakened in Ukraine, Iran, and Hezbollah (a Shiite Muslim nation and Shiite Muslim proxy) had been weakened by Israel, and Syria’s troops were no match for HTS.
• Some reports said Russia and Iran had started withdrawing some of their troops that had been propping up the Syrian government (Note: Turkey and HTS may stay in Syria, and God will put a hook in the jaw of Russia’s dictator and drag Russia and Iran back into Syria in the latter years and latter days.)

Monday, Dec. 2, 2024 through Wednesday Dec. 4, 2024

• HTS fought Syrian troops for control of Hama, Syria’s fourth largest city.

Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024

• HTS captured Hama.

Friday, Dec. 6, 2024

• HTS captured Homs, a major city on the road to Damascus.

Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024

• HTS surrounded Damascus.

Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024

• Syrian Pres. Assad fled to Russia and HTS captured Damascus.
• Israeli jets destroyed Syria’s chemical weapons factory, several weapons storage facilities, Syria’s long-range rockets and missiles and at least 80% of Syria’s military capabilities. Israel is aware that they may have missed some chemical weapons, etc. that they didn’t know about.
• Israeli troops moved into the buffer zone along their border with Syria and took over abandoned Syrian positions on the other side. They also took over the Syrian side of Mt. Herman to protect Jews on the Golan Heights.

Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024

• Israel’s air force and navy destroyed Assad’s army and navy: tanks, planes, helicopters, ships, air defense systems, missiles, military factories, intelligence facilities, and everything that Syria’s military has held and built for decades. Israel destroyed them to prevent the insurgents from capturing them and possibly using them against Israel.

Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024

• Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani said he is not seeking conflict with Israel, but Israel must leave Syrian territory (My opinion: Israel has indicated that it will withdraw from the buffer zone under the right conditions, but Israel will never give up the Golan Heights).
• Syrian rebel leader al-Julani said the new Syrian regime will operate under Sharia Law, and it will have morality police supervised by clerics and mullahs.
• Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the fall of the Assad regime cut off its supply of weapons, and other military supplies were brought through Syria into Lebanon. He added we hope that the new ruling party will view Israel as an enemy and refrain from normalizing relations with it.

Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024

• Israel unanimously approved a plan to spend the equivalent of $11 million or more to double the number of Jews living on the Golan Heights and Katzrin (a village often referred to as the capital of the Golan Heights).

(FYI: Israel will never be completely put off the Promised Land again; Amos 9:15. Have you noticed what has happened to Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and Syria, who have been trying to do that?)

Monday, Dec. 16, 2024

• Elect Trump said, “Nobody knows what’s going to happen with Syria, but I think Turkey is going to hold the key to Syria.”

(My opinion: There is a good possibility that Russia and Iran will send their militaries back to Syria to join Turkey and others in an attack on Israel.)

Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024

• Mass graves outside of Damascus likely contain the bodies of more than 100 thousand people that were executed by the Assad government.
• S. officials said Turkey and its militia allies are building up forces on the Syrian border that could be preparation for an attack on the U.S.-backed Kurds.
• Netanyahu visited the Syrian side of Mt. Hermon and said we will stay in this important place until another arrangement is found that ensures Israel’s security.

Here are some reasons why I believe the end of the age is upon us.

One, concerning Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple Mount: on Dec. 10, 2024, it was reported that HTS’ leader al-Julani,

• Said capturing Damascus is just part of their plan.
• He promised to reach Jerusalem soon, enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and the Kabba (a Muslim Holy site) in Mecca (Saudi Arabia).
• He said his group is committed to Islam and following Muhammad and his followers.

(More: On Dec. 15, 2024, it was reported al-Julani has made past statements that indicate he may be aiming for a “Greater Syria” that includes ruling over Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel. His followers screaming that their next stop is Al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem may be a sign of more trouble to come. His current conciliatory statements may be a ruse to get global acceptance while he strengthens his forces and prepares for more war.)

Two, On Dec. 15, 2024, Israel Katz, Defense Min. of Israel, said,

• The new rulers of Syria are pretending to be more moderate, but they represent an increased danger to Israel.
• The immediate threats to the state have not disappeared, and the recent developments in Syria have increased the severity of the threat.

(More: On Dec. 17, 2024, Katz said the rebels in Damascus claim to portray a moderate facade, but they are among some of the most extreme branches of Islamists.)

Three, on Dec. 15-16, 2024 (late Sunday night and early Monday morning), Israeli planes bombed missiles and weapons storage facilities near Russia’s naval base in Tartus, Syria.

Russia had apparently left the area, and the explosions and secondary explosions were so powerful they caused mushroom clouds that could be seen for miles.

They also set off earthquake sensors hundreds of miles away.

Israel destroyed these things to keep them from falling into the hands of the HTS insurgents that caused the downfall of Syria’s government.

Four, concerning Iran: on Dec. 12, 2024, it was reported that Pres. Trump and his transition team are considering the possibility of a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities because:

• Iran reportedly plotted to assassinate him.
• Iran has sharply increased its stockpile of enriched nuclear material.
• Iran now has enough nuclear material to make a dozen nuclear weapons.

Pres. Trump’s nominee for National Security Advisor (Waltz) said, “You’re going to see a huge shift on Iran.”

Five, concerning Iran: on Dec. 12, 2024, it was reported that,

• Israel has started preparing plans for an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites.
• The decision to launch a strike would be left to elected political leaders.

Six, concerning Iran: on Dec. 17, 2024, it was reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Khamenei, said,

• The Zionist regime, in its delusion, believes it is preparing itself through Syria to encircle and eradicate Hezbollah forces, but the one that will be eradicated is Israel.

Seven, concerning peace in the Middle East: Pres.-elect Trump seems to be weakening his previous support for the Two-State Solution.

On Dec. 13, 2024, it was reported that Pres.-elect Trump said in an interview with Time magazine,

• I support whatever solution we can do to get peace.
• There are other ideas other than two-state, but I support whatever is necessary to get not just peace, [but] a lasting peace.
• It can’t go on where every five years you end up in tragedy.
• There are other alternatives.
• What I want is a deal where there’s going to be peace and where the killing stops.

(My opinion: I am delighted that Trump is backing off and hope that he will soon start opposing it because dividing the Promised Land will lead to the Battle of Armageddon; Joel 3:2.)

Eight, concerning an increase in wars and rumors of wars at the end of the age:

• On Dec. 13, 2024, it was reported that NATO’s new Sec. Gen., Mark Rutt, warned that danger is moving toward the NATO nations at full speed, and NATO needs to do more to prepare (because Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, etc. are increasing their forces and loading up on weapons to change the world).

Here is my update on the Israel-Hamas war:

Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, (day 432) The three hundred and seventy-sixth day of the resumed war. Day 210 of the attack on Rafah.

• Hamas signaled that it is willing to make more concessions for a hostage deal, and the U.S. said this will be its final push to get a deal before Trump takes office.

Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024 (day 433), The three hundred and seventy-seventh day of the resumed war. Day 211 of the attack on Rafah.

• Up until now, Israel has been unwilling to permanently end the war in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed.
• The Houthis in Yemen launched at least 3 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) at Israel. None reached their intended target, but Israel is planning to retaliate.

Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 (day 434), The three hundred and seventy-eighth day of the resumed war. Day 212 of the attack on Rafah.

• Israel filed two appeals against the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for Prime Min. Netanyahu and former defense minister Gallant.

Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, (day 435) The three hundred and seventy-ninth day of the resumed war. Day 213 of the attack on Rafah.

• At a ceremony to receive a reward for supporting Israel, Dutch populist leader, Gert Wilders, repeated his warning that should Israel fall in its battle, the West will be next.

Sunday Dec. 15, 2024, (day 436) The three hundred and eightieth day of the resumed war. Day 214 of the attack on Rafah.

• Netanyahu told Trump a hostage deal with Hamas could be finalized in the next few days.

Monday, Dec. 16, 2024 (day 437), The three hundred and eighty-first day of the resumed war. Day 215 of the attack on Rafah.

• Israel intercepted a missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen at Tel Aviv in Israel.
• Israel is preparing for a massive retaliation against the Houthis.
• A hostage deal appears near, but Hamas is now trying to reduce the number of hostages it will release, and Israel is saying they will release the agreed-upon number or no deal.
• Trump said he will get the hostages back, and he didn’t mention a ceasefire.
• Israel said it will continue its military control over Gaza after Hamas is defeated.

FYI: God does not send anyone to Hell (all of us are born with a sin nature and destined to go to Hell because we sin), but God has provided a way (Jesus) for everyone to go to Heaven (and He is the only way to get there; John 14:6).

Finally, are you Rapture Ready?

If you want to be rapture ready and go to heaven, you must be born again (John 3:3). God loves you, and if you have not done so, sincerely admit that you are a sinner; believe that Jesus is the virgin-born, sinless Son of God who died for the sins of the world, was buried, and raised from the dead; ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you, come into your heart and be your Saviour; then tell someone that you have done this.

duck_daymond@yahoo.com