Aliens and UFO’s; A Christian Perspective

 Yes , yes, yes, I know...another article on aliens. But you see it’s very exciting when you find another prophecy watcher who has concluded the exact same things that you have! It lends confirmation to your conclusions.

No doubt the world has been prepared to receive these demons disguised as aliens.  I was just watching the Star Trek movie with a bunch of high school boys and wondering what their brains were concluding about evolution and the surety that the universe is teaming with intelligent life. 

Remember this;  the Creator of the universe is Jesus Christ. And Jesus chose to reveal himself to us in human flesh. Not Klingon, Ralean or Carpasian.

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What does the Bible say in this regard?

1 Timothy 4:1

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

Ephesians 6:22

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Given that, I’m sure you’ll also find fascinating what happens when someone resists an alien intrusion into their life.

Before I tell you that, let’s categorize people.  There are three kinds in this context: real Christians who truly follow Jesus, newbie or backslidden Christians, and unbelievers.

The simple fact of the matter is that true followers of Jesus Christ DO NOT have alien encounters.

Newbie or backslidden Christians can and do have such encounters.

Unbelievers, of course, can and do have them as well.

Now, when a newbie or backslidden Christian has an alien encounter—whatever that might look like, i.e. a visitation or some kind or an actual abduction, when they do one specific thing, the encounter STOPS.  Here it is: If they cry out loud the Name of Jesus and command the aliens to stop, they do.

Generally, unbelievers aren’t going to have the presence of mind to even go in this direction of calling to Jesus to save them.

In conclusion, know this: Anything purporting to be alien or extraterrestrial is demonic.  These are not benign entities from Alpha Centauri.  They are not here to assist fellow travelers in the solar system out of the kindness of their hearts.  They are not here to save our planet.  They are here to do the work of Satan to attempt to resist God and His plan for this world.  They will ultimately fail.

Following the Rapture of the true Church, it will likely be said that Christians were removed from the earth because we disturbed the harmony of the planet.  They’ll assure everyone left that, yes, things will get worse for a while.  But then the earth will correct itself and settle down from the bad vibes of those who were taken.

Most likely after the Tribulation begins, much of this will be forgotten as the One World Religion rises and encompasses the alien narrative.  However, there may even be an embracing of that narrative as lawlessness increases, deception rules, and spiritual darkness settles upon many.

Don’t be surprised if we see more and more of these deceptions as we near our final days on earth before Jesus air lifts His Church out of here.  And, no, the Rapture is not a fairy tale or caused by UFOs.

http://garyritter.com/aliens-ufos-a-christian-perspective/

Google’s New Tattoo-“SkinMarks”

When John was given Revelation by Jesus he would have had no words in his vocabulary to describe what he was seeing in the visions Jesus gave him.  Today we are the the first generation to have all the technology available to fulfill everything that John saw. This is one more reason we should all be ready for the trumpet to blow.

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 Google announced that its working on developing the next futuristic technology beyond smartphones -- tattoos that turn the user into a human touchpad. Meanwhile, scientists are developing something way more sinister using similar skin-drawing technology to track its wearer's movements.

Google is developing smart tattoos that, when applied to the skin, will transform the human body into a living touchpad via embedded sensors in the ink. No this isn't science fiction, the wearable project is called "SkinMarks." 

SkinMarks utilizes rub-on tattoos to create the next generation of wearable technology devices, CNET reported, citing white papers and demo videos.

https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=4217

Israel and UAE Sign Historic Peace Deal

 This is kind of a big deal on the prophetic end of things.  Israel and the United Arab Emirates have signed a peace deal.  It's the first one that Israel has signed with an Arab nation in over 25 years.  And it would appear that USA (Trump) played a major role in brokering the deal.

Leaders in Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have agreed to normalize relations between the two countries and pledged to take a number of steps to strengthen diplomatic relations, including exchanging embassies and ambassadors.

The historic treaty is a result of negotiations brokered by President Donald Trump. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, concluded the peace negotiations in a phone call with the U.S. president on Thursday.

“HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!” Trump tweeted. During a press briefing after the agreement was announced, Trump said that the U.S. is in talks with other Middle Eastern nations to join the Israeli-UAE agreement.

The agreement is set to “unlock great potential in the region,” according to a joint-statement by the trio of nations. An official agreement is expected to be signed at a White House ceremony in the coming weeks.

“Delegations from Israel and the United Arab Emirates will meet in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements regarding investments, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare, culture, the environment, the establishment of reciprocal embassies, and other areas of mutual benefit,” the statement said. “Opening direct ties between two of the Middle East’s most dynamic societies and advanced economies will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation, and forging closer people-to-people relations.”

As part of the agreement, Israel has agreed to suspend declaring sovereignty over areas of the West Bank outlined in a January peace plan designed by the Trump administration. Instead, Israel will focus on “expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world.”

Here;  https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-touts-huge-breakthrough-as-israel-united-arab-emirates-agree-to-historic-peace-deal

Of course Israel has always been God's timepiece when it comes to the Last Days.  We know that the Antichrist will CONFIRM a peace agreement between Israel and it's historical enemies. This makes some of us think that the peace agreements might be in place before the rapture of the church.  Once the rapture happens some of these agreements might fall into question.  Why?  Because the USA will most likely collapse at the rapture when millions of Americans go missing.  Maybe even President Trump!  This could certainly make the Muslim nations wonder if they shouldn't rescind their agreements with Israel. If you throw in the Ezekiel 38 war into the mix, one could see how maybe the Antichrist will show up and say, "Whoa!  Whoa!  Whoa!  Not so fast!"  If he then confirms the peace agreement this would start the final 7 years ticking until Christ returns to earth (with us) to set up his millennial Kingdom. 

The Third Temple will be built and halfway through this 7 year period, Antichrist will go into the Temple and declare himself to be God.  At this point the "Time of Jacob's trouble" will begin.  Jesus says that when the Jews see this they should run, because the Antichrist will start coming after them.

This scenario, if it happens this way, could then fit into what Jesus said, "When they are saying peace and safety, destruction will come upon them suddenly."

Hat tip to Dave G.

Yes, This Is a Revolution

 Are you amazed how quickly all pro sports bowed to Black Lives Matter? Have you been concerned for your job if you spoke your mind on political topics? Is your family split between those who agree with defunding the police vs. those who appreciate law enforcement?  Yes, this is a revolution.

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We know it’s different this time because the stakes are continually articulated by the enemies of the current order. They are demanding, and in some cases getting, a new and exotic country. The police are indeed being defunded. The statues are coming down. The heretics are being outed. The dissenters are being silenced. The buildings are burning, and the demands are ever growing.

In June, the editors of Commentary called this combination of mob violence, cultural torment, and public intimidation “the great unraveling.” Since then, things have gotten appreciably worse.

The great unraveling at first consisted of riots and looting under the pretense of seeking justice for the recently killed George Floyd; the anarchist occupation of a section of Seattle; and a rash of accusations, confessions, and dismissals of individuals who showed insufficient fealty to the new anti-racist paradigm. At the time, extreme policy proposals, such as defunding municipal police departments, were subjects for popular discussion and debate. Everyday Americans swapped Black Lives Matter reading lists and strove, however misguidedly, to broaden their conception of racial inequity.

As of this writing, Portland, Oregon, has endured more than two months straight of anarchist violence directed at federal buildings and employees. In other cities—New York, Los Angeles, Richmond, Omaha, and Austin, to name a few—mob violence continues to erupt regularly, always connected to cries for justice and sometimes resulting in death. Accelerating the general dissolution, police forces have been successfully hobbled in response to the killing of George Floyd, and the resulting spike in murder and violent crime shows no sign of abating. All the while, armchair lynch mobs have continued to claim the scalps of those who veer from or merely stumble on the path to social-justice enlightenment. It is the full-time job of any American with a public presence to bow down before the identity cult. Professional athletes have mutated overnight into a congeries of Kaepernicks. As for the public, 62 percent of all Americans, according to a poll by the CATO Institute, now say they’re afraid to voice their political views lest they be punished professionally.

Leading media organizations, as they did from the start, lend their approval to all of it. After months of defending chaos in the streets as “mostly peaceful,” the media elite is openly covering for a movement whose defining features are intimidation and mass violence. And having completed their Internet-assigned reading in black–white relations, a majority of Americans (56 percent, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll) now find the United States guilty as charged of systemic racism.

Which is now all but beside the point, as perceived racism has less and less to do with the passions convulsing the nation. Statues of abolitionists—indeed, of Frederick Douglass—are torn down with no less vigor than those of slave owners. And the social-justice paradigm has proved capable of accommodating a growing number of grievances. “Cancel the rent,” to take one example, has joined “defund the police” as a rallying cry for the mob. As law professor Amna A. Akbar explains in a July 11 New York Times essay: “The people making these demands want a new society. They want a break from prisons and the police, from carbon and rent.” Toward the end of her essay, titled “The Left Is Remaking the World,” Akbar writes: “And whatever you think of their demands, you have to be in awe of how they inaugurate a new political moment, as the left offers not just a searing critique, but practical ladders to radical visions.”

https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/abe-greenwald/yes-this-is-a-revolution/

Emmanuel Macron Rides Jet Ski With 666

 We are smiling as we continue to see headlines pointing to the a President of France being the top candidate for Antichrist.  We know Emmanuel means “God with us”, and we understand that Macron means “mark”. Interesting.  We know that he emerging as the top leader of Europe and United Nations. Today we see him riding a jet ski with the number 666 on it. Oh yeah, and he reportedly won the election with 66.06% of votes.  

Remember, we watch for Jesus Christ not the Antichrist, but it is still kind of interesting to watch the headlines surrounding the topic. If the rapture is as close as many believe, the Antichrist has to be alive and well and ascending the world stage.

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This article today about French president Emmanuel Macron is not presented to you as a ‘smoking gun’, rather as another one of those ‘interesting coincidences’ that seem to keep following Emmanuel Macron around everywhere he goes. Regular NTEB readers know that we here think very strongly that Emmanuel Macron is quite possibly the biblical man of sin, for the countless reasons we have already put forth. Today’s image of Macron riding a jet ski emblazoned with the numbers 666 only serves to advance our hypothesis.

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4 (KJB)

So while French citizens enjoyed mocking Macron for his GQ attempt with the jet ski photo-op, in the midst of all that laughter was something not very funny at all, and completely overlooked. Hat tip to NTEB’er Lori D for bringing this to our attention. Macron, you’ll recall, became president of France with 66.06% of the vote. Another crazy ‘coincidence’.

See photo here;  https://www.nowtheendbegins.com/man-of-sin-emmanuel-macron-666-jet-ski-holiday-lebanon-beirut-covid-france/

China to Prepare for War With USA

Wars and rumors of war.

Chinese military journalists are publicly urging the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to prepare immediately for an attack by U.S. forces in the South China Sea. One expert at Zhejiang University's National Institute for South China Sea Studies, Shi Xiaoqin, claims that the U.S. is deliberately trying to provoke China. They also suggest the regime reinforce Chinese installations on reefs claimed by China.

If this analysis gains traction by Chinese political and military leaders, U.S. military commanders in the South China Sea should plan for the possibility that China might initiate hostilities in keeping with its doctrine of preemptive retaliation, a seeming attempt falsely to claim "self-defense."

One writer suggests that the PLA should immediately move fighter aircraft to Chinese air bases in the Spratly Islands at Fiery Cross, Subi Reef, and Mischief Reef. He also boldly claims that the augmented presence of U.S. naval and air assets in the South China Sea is no longer just a show of force by America.

Chen Hu, a Chinese military journalist, also asserts that the U.S. is now intent on provoking a conflict and is preparing for battle. Chen claims that the return of B1 bombers to Guam and continued deployment of two U.S. aircraft carrier groups in the South China Sea, despite the conclusion of military exercises, is supposedly a sign of Washington's aggressive intent. Chen suggests that recent U.S. "Freedom of Navigation" maneuvers and the high number of U.S. surveillance collection missions along the Chinese coast is additional proof of American attack planning. Former PLA officer Wang Yunfei and naval equipment expert suggests that flights by American RC-135, E-8c, and RC-12X surveillance aircraft equate to "pre-battle strategic technical surveillance." As the joke goes from the children's playground: "It all started when he hit me back."

Wang further warns that U.S. President Donald J. Trump is likely to initiate a military conflict in the South China Sea region before the November 3 U.S. presidential election, speculating that "stirring up external frictions, especially military conflicts with China, will help the incumbent president for his re-election campaign."

The leaders of China's Communist Party (CCP) also see that nothing was done by anyone, including the U.S., to stop China's grab of Hong Kong this year -- 37 years early. This paralysis of the West must have looked to the CCP like a green light to keep on grabbing.

Here;  https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16336/china-military-war

Did you catch that?  Trump is likely to initiate a military conflict before the election?

Boy that would sure make 2020 about the most interesting year in recorded history!!

Some years ago one of my clients who has a level 5 clearance in the Defense Industry told me, "The whole world thinks that WWIII is going to start in the Middle East, but I'm telling you it's going to start in the South China Sea."

Hmmmm.....maybe his words were prophetic.

Michelle Obama Blames Trump for Her Low-Grade Depression

Maybe this will make you smile today.  Some of you probably caught this in last week's news but I forgot to post on it...so better late than never.

Michelle Obama revealed she is “dealing with some form of low-grade depression” that she says has partly been brought on by President Donald Trump’s actions.

The former first lady made the comment during “The Michelle Obama Podcast” while discussing mental health with former NPR anchor Michele Norris.

Obama said in an episode released Wednesday: “I know that I am dealing with some form of low-grade depression, not just because of the quarantine, but because of the racial strife, and just seeing this administration, watching the hypocrisy of it, day in and day out, is dispiriting.”

Norris added that during the time of “tumult and uncertainty,” many people are feeling “the highs and the lows.”

“They’ve been real for me, and you know, I don’t think I’m unusual in that. But I’d be remiss to say that part of this depression is also a result of what we’re seeing in terms of the protests, the continued racial unrest, that has plagued this country since its birth,” Obama said.

“I have to say that waking up to the news, waking up to how this administration has or has not responded, waking up to yet another story of a black man or a black person somehow being dehumanized or hurt or killed or falsely accused of something — it is exhausting.”

She added, “It has led to a weight that I haven’t felt in my life in a while.”

Obama said she is working through the depression by keeping a routine, working out, getting outside and spending time with her family.

Here;  https://www.westernjournal.com/michelle-obama-reveals-medical-issue-says-trump-partly-blame/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=SOFbreaking&utm_campaign=wj-breaking&utm_content=libertyalliance&ats_es=4124f8cd367b0c93aee353f30043ebff

Simply more evidence of how the Right and the Left are not going to be able to co-exist in this nation for very much longer.

Economic Devastation Coming for USA?

This next article comes from us via Michael Snyder.  He is best known for being a financial guy who has been predicting the financial collapse of America since before the collapse of 2007-2008. (Economic Collapse Blog)  A lot of what he says makes sense but I do not know if he is a follower of Christ or not so I don't pretend to know his spiritual discernment.  Many of us have looked at the massive debt, money printing, unlimited unemployment benefits, upside down Social Security and now the COVID collapse and wonder why America hasn't already collapsed?  Is the hand of God holding us up because He says, "Not yet!"?

Of course none of us saw the miraculous election of Trump in 2016 which for sure has kept the country floating on a massive increase in stock prices.  People feel really good when they look at their 401k balance or IRA balance and it goes up.  They feel more like spending money today which keeps the economy humming.

Also as interest rates get shoved down to their lowest rates ever recorded it forces real estate prices to go up.  And when folks see that their home values have gone from $300k to $400k they are more likely to spend money by refinancing their homes and taking out $60k to buy a swimming pool or blacktopping their driveways...which keeps things humming along too.

But just imagine what would happen if the stock market crashed from near 30,000 and fell to 10,000 DOW in November?  On top of that roll out massive riots across the country, COVID fears, all pro sports cancelled, public schools shut down for months, and then massive inflation hits as the confidence in the US Dollar is shattered.  Do you think this could put America into un-charted waters?

For a very long time we have been warned that a U.S. economic collapse was inevitably coming, and now it is here.  Fear of COVID-19 and unprecedented civil unrest in our major cities have combined to plunge us into a historic economic downturn, and nobody is exactly sure what is going to happen next.  

On Thursday, we learned that U.S. GDP was down 32.9 percent on an annualized basis last quarter.  That officially makes last quarter the worst quarter in all of U.S. history, and many people believe that this new economic depression is just getting started.  

But of course not all areas of the country are being affected equally.  According to USA Today, states such as Hawaii, Nevada, Michigan and New York were hit particularly hard last quarter...

Every state was walloped last quarter, though ones that rely heavily on travel and tourism, such as Hawaii and Nevada, were hit hardest by the downturn, according to employment figures analyzed by economist Adam Kamins of Moody's Analytics. 

Michigan, the heart of the nation's auto industry, was slammed as consumers put off car purchases. And densely populated Northeast states struck by the most severe virus outbreaks - like New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts - absorbed among the heaviest economic losses as governors shut down earlier and residents stayed home.

Originally, the mainstream media was telling us that the U.S. economy would come surging back to life during the third quarter, but we continue to get more signs that indicate that the economy is starting to slow down again.

For example, the Labor Department just released some new numbers that were more than just a little bit startling.  If you can believe it, another 1.434 million Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week.  That was an increase over last week's revised number, and it represents the second week in a row that initial claims have risen.

Overall, new claims for unemployment benefits have now been above one million for 19 weeks in a row.

In fact, you know that things are starting to get really bad when even Walmart starts laying off workers...

Walmart Inc. is joining the ranks of Macy's and L Brands in eliminating hundreds of corporate jobs in order to cut costs.

Employees in the mega-retailer's store planning, logistics, and real estate units have reportedly received pink slips, reported Bloomberg Thursday

If Walmart executives truly believed that the U.S. economy was going to be returning to normal, they would not have made such a move.

But at this point it should be clear to everyone that there isn't going to be a return to normal.

Very challenging times are on the horizon, and what we have experienced so far is just the tip of the iceberg.

More big corporations are going to go bankrupt, more businesses are going to fail, more workers are going to be laid off, and the financial dominoes are going to start to fall at a pace that is absolutely breathtaking.

So many of the things that myself and so many other economic writers have been warning about are starting to happen.

A great unraveling has begun, and it is imperative for all of us to find a way to survive the severe economic pain that is ahead of us.

Here;  https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=4205

Let's say this all comes true?  Would the Wealth and Prosperity gospel preachers like Joel Osteen and countless others be put to shame?  Would the false god of Mammon be exposed for the lie that he is?  Would the false god of pro sports be upended and exposed as the false idol that he has become?  Could this actually be a good thing for true followers of Jesus Christ in America?  Could it have the effect of separating the wheat from the chaff?

Nation's Mood Turns Grim as Election Looms

We have been asking the question for months:  What happens if Trump wins?  Could riots break out in the streets that are George Floyd riots times 10?  Could certain Democrat cities refuse to honor the results?  Could battles start in the streets as protesters fight Trump voters?

2020 has definitely been a chaotic year so far.  The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly disrupted life all over the planet, we have witnessed a horrific economic downturn, and civil unrest has been raging in major U.S. cities for months.  But the good news is that we appear to have hit a pocket of relative calm here in August.  

Yes, global events are still going crazy, and the bizarre explosion that we just witnessed in Beirut is just one example.  But compared to what we experienced during the first half of 2020 and compared to what we will experience during the last portion of this year, I believe that August should be relatively peaceful.  I would encourage everyone to enjoy this month as much as possible and to use it to prepare for what is ahead, because September is just around the corner.

Of course many Americans can't imagine things getting much worse than they are right now.  Gallup regularly asks Americans whether they are "satisfied" with the direction of the country or not, and what they have discovered is that the mood of the country has shifted dramatically since February, and this has especially been true among Republicans...

A poll by Gallup released Wednesday shows that the percentage of Republicans who say they are "satisfied" with the direction the country is heading has fallen by 60 points since February, when the pandemic began spreading rapidly across the U.S.

"The plunge in the U.S. mood, both in the past month and since February, is mostly occurring among Republicans. Republicans' satisfaction today (20%) is about half what it was a month ago (39%) and down 60 points since February, after the Senate acquitted President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial. The current figure is easily the lowest for Republicans during the Trump administration, with their prior low being 38% in October 2017," Gallup said on its website.

I was quite stunned when I first saw the graphic that Gallup posted on Twitter which shows how much the numbers have changed over the course of 2020.

I have never seen anything like this, and a presidential election is less than 3 months away.

Because of COVID-19, this election season has been relatively subdued so far, but I definitely expect that things will start to get crazy starting in September.

Many on the left have been anticipating a blowout victory by Joe Biden, but the polls have started to tighten, and Biden's physical condition has been rapidly deteriorating.

To be honest, we don't even know if it will be Joe Biden taking on Trump in November, and we certainly do not know who is going to win.

In fact, a group that included both prominent Republicans and prominent Democrats recently held "war games" to try to simulate the outcome of the election, and what those "war games" showed was quite disconcerting...

After gaming out various scenarios, the group said its conclusions were "alarming:" In an election taking place amid a pandemic, a recession and rising political polarization, the group found a substantial risk of legal battles, a contested outcome, violent street clashes and even a constitutional impasse.

"We assess with a high degree of likelihood that November's elections will be marked by a chaotic legal and political landscape," the Transition Integrity Project, which organized the "war games," said in a report this week.

That doesn't sound good at all.

But I actually agree with that assessment.  I believe that this will be the most chaotic election period in modern U.S. history, and I believe that much more civil unrest is ahead.

Here;  https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=4216

As we watch the news and see cities taken over by protesters, we tend to agree with this dude.  A)  He's NEVER seen anything like this.  and B)  He believes that much more civil unrest lies ahead.

Thankfully, our God is still on the throne.  He's not worried about the fate of America even if we are.

Busted Retailers Use Bankruptcy to Break Leases by the Thousands

It seems strange that the stock market hasn't crashed, bringing everything else down with it.  But it hasn't.  It keeps recovering from the COVID collapse even though the news around the country seems to be pretty bleak for thousands of businesses.

Yes, Amazon and Fed Ex and UPS are doing the most business ever recorded.  One of my clients owns a swimming pool business and they have sold more pools than ever.  They are booked on installing pools through 2021!

But we wonder how long the bubble can last?

Today we read that thousands of businesses that had closed for COVID have filed for bankruptcy and will use that reason to get out of the leases.  I can't imagine owning retail property today or commercial property as we watch all of America start to order almost all their needs online.

With the pandemic intensifying the plight of U.S. retailers, companies from J. Crew Group Inc. to the owner of Ann Taylor are using Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings to quickly get out of costly, long-term leases and shutter thousands of stores.

By seeking court protection, firms like Neiman Marcus Group Inc. and the parent company of Men’s Wearhouse avoid the headache of protracted negotiations with individual landlords. But the moves threaten to upend huge swaths of the real estate market and the half-trillion dollar market for commercial mortgage-backed securities.

“This is now black-letter law -- a debtor can cram down a landlord,” said Melanie Cyganowski, a former bankruptcy judge who’s now a partner at law firm Otterbourg PC. “If this becomes a tsunami of retailers rejecting their leases, it’s going to trigger another part of the sea change -- the mortgages held by the landlords.”

As bankrupt firms like J.C. Penney Co. and Brooks Brothers Group Inc. look to jettison leases, landlords are already feeling the consequences. CBL & Associates Properties Inc., owner of more than 100 shopping centers in the U.S., is preparing its own bankruptcy filing after rent collections cratered. And 16% of retail property loans bundled into CMBS were delinquent in July, according to research firm Trepp.

At least 25 major retailers have filed for bankruptcy this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The most recent additions include Tailored Brands Inc., owner of Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, which is seeking to close about a third of its more than 1,200 stores, and Lord & Taylor parent company Le Tote, which said it could shut down all of the department store’s remaining locations.

“It’s economical, it’s efficient and it allows retailers to rationalize their footprint quickly,” said Fred Ringel, co-chair of the business finance and restructuring practice at the law firm Robinson Brog Leinwand Greene Genovese & Gluck P.C. Ringel, who works for landlords, said he’s busier than ever renegotiating leases and in some cases persuading tenants to forgo cancellations and stay under modified terms.

Here;  https://www.advisorperspectives.com/articles/2020/08/06/busted-retailers-use-bankruptcy-to-break-leases-by-the-thousands?bt_ee=jNp4GqQWMboJPkAn8olT4ePoM5Uvi2GvovRRElrtEUgZQrKC4eCSJyqlkrZv81k6&bt_ts=1597061030873

Is this just one more sign to those with eyes to see that this entire financial situation is just an illusion?