Government Shutdown Looms

 I'm not sure how many are watching this happen in D.C. but the Left and the Right are battling it out again over how much money to print so we can keep the doors open and our bills paid.

The Left says, "Keep printing because we have an obligation to pay our bills!"

The Right says, "We need massive spending cuts because we simply can't go on living like this!"

And neither one has the votes to push things one war or the other.

House GOP leaders failed Friday to pass a partisan, short-term spending bill with fewer than two days left to fund the federal government and avoid a shutdown.

The final vote was 198 to 232, with more than 20 Republicans voting to oppose their own party’s bill, embarrassing House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

McCarthy had pitched the bill as at least a piecemeal, albeit doomed, step to avert a shutdown.

The government is scheduled to shut down at 12:01 a.m. ET Sunday if a funding bill is not approved by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden.

Republicans who joined Democrats voting against the included several of McCarthy’s most outspoken antagonists, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and Arizona’s Andy Biggs and Eli Crane.

The GOP bill would have funded the government through Oct. 31. But even if it had passed, it had effectively no chance of passing the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats, or of Biden signing it.

The vote came a day after the Senate easily advanced its own short-term funding bill by a 76-22 margin. The next vote in that chamber is scheduled for Saturday.

The Senate bill is likely to be amended ahead of Saturday’s vote, and the next version could contain stronger border security measures that House Republicans are demanding.

Missing from the Senate vote this weekend will be Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who died Thursday at her Washington, D.C., home.

McCarthy had initially hoped that by passing its own spending bill, the House would have a counterpart to the Senate’s bill, setting the stage for differences between the two to be resolved in a conference.

But Friday’s vote dashed those hopes and left the House Republican majority in an even weaker negotiating position.

“I think the failure to move something this afternoon clearly puts the advantage back on the Senate bill,” Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., told NBC News.

The House GOP caucus planned to meet later Friday to map out its next steps.

In a surprise move Friday afternoon, House Republican leadership advised members that there would be votes on Saturday. It was unclear what they would be voting on, but the announcement raised hopes among both moderate Republicans and Democrats that McCarthy might agree to hold a vote on a bipartisan Senate bill to fund the government.

The failure of the House bill provided political ammunition to Democrats and the White House, which blasted Republicans for engaging in brinksmanship.

“We’re doing everything we can to plead, beg, shame House Republicans to do the right thing,” Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, told reporters.

She scoffed at McCarthy’s suggestion that he would refuse his own paycheck during a shutdown.

“That is theater,” Young said.

“The guy who picks up the trash in my office won’t get a paycheck. That’s real.”

The White House said Biden would stay “in dialogue with Congress,” over the coming days, but insisted the core elements of any spending bill had been agreed to as part of the debt ceiling deal earlier this year.

Across Washington on Friday, government agencies prepared their employees and the public for the effects of a shutdown.

The Smithsonian Institution said it would use existing funds from last year to keep its museums and the National Zoo open for at least the next week.

Here;  Government shutdown fears grow as House GOP spending bill fails (cnbc.com)

I hear it all the time, "Why don't they just do their jobs and compromise??"  My answer is that the world views of Left and Right have become so far apart that the middle is always 100 miles away.

"But Dennis, it's always been that way!"

Go and listen to Democrat President JFK's inaugural speech and you will swear you are listening to a far right Republican.  We used to all agree on some basics like men are men, women are women, marriage is a man and a woman, gay sex is perversion, adultery is wrong and America is a great nation because God has chosen to bless us.  This is no longer the case.

Almost Half of Young Adults Are Living With Their Parents

 Yes, something is wrong in America.  Some of it has to do with young men willing to live with their mom's who do their wash, clean their rooms and leave them to play GameBoy and cavort with their friends.  But some of it has to do with the fact that apartments cost $2,000, health insurance is $500, car payments are $800 and groceries cost $200 for a few bags.

When are we going to wake up and admit that our system is failing?  If close to half of our young adults find themselves needing to live with their parents, we have a major crisis on our hands.  

Yes, there are some young people that are simply lazy and don't want to work hard enough.  I definitely understand that.  But most young adults in America today don't actually want to live with their parents.  

Given the opportunity, they would love to have their own homes.  Unfortunately, home prices have risen to absolutely absurd levels and housing in America is now more unaffordable than it has ever been before.

I feel so badly for the millions upon millions of young people that are struggling so much right now.

We encourage them to pile up giant mountains of student loan debt without ever considering the consequences, and then once they get out into the real world they quickly discover that the cost of living has become extremely suffocating.

As a result, vast numbers of young adults are finding that it is necessary to move back in with their parents...

Nearly half of all young adults are living with their parents -- and they're not ashamed to say it.

Moving out and living on your own is often seen as a marker of adulthood. But dealt an onerous set of cards -- including pandemic lockdowns, decades-high inflation, soaring student debt levels and a shaky job market -- young people today are increasingly staying put. What's more, it's no longer seen as a sign of individual failure.

Needless to say, this is not a good thing for our society.

The last time that such a high percentage of young adults were living with their parents was during the aftermath of the Great Depression...

These days, about 23 million, or 45%, of all Americans ages 18 to 29 are living with family, roughly the same level as the 1940s, a time when women were more likely to remain at home until marriage and men too were lingering on family farms in the aftermath of the Great Depression.

So why is this happening?

One of the primary reasons why this is happening is because high interest rates have pushed housing costs to insane levels.

This week, the average rate on a 30 year fixed mortgage reached 7.19 percent...

US mortgage rates remained flat this week, hovering over 7%, where they've been for six consecutive weeks as inflation pressures persist.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.19% in the week ending September 21, a tick up from 7.18% the week before, according to data from Freddie Mac released Thursday. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate was 6.29%.

"Mortgage rates continue to linger above 7% as the Federal Reserve paused their interest rate hikes," Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said. "Given these high rates, housing demand is cooling off and now homebuilders are feeling the effect," he said. "Builder sentiment declined for the first time in several months and construction levels have dipped to a three-year low, which could have an impact on the already low housing supply," Khater added.

And this isn't even going to be the peak.

Here;  Almost Half Of All Young Adults Are Now Living With Their Parents (prophecynewswatch.com)

When young people aren't marrying or having kids, our current system simply won't work.  So what happens when great societies find themselves living in systems that simply won't maintain?  They collapse or implode.

God blessed this nation and it survived a Civil War, world wars and a great depression, but as we have said numerous times we simply aren't a nation made up of God-fearing folks anymore.  And when humans think they can do it all on their own while giving the middle finger to their Creator, it simply won't last.

When and how it will implode is unknown.  We continue to hope that the rapture of the church is what seals America's fate...but that is certainly not guaranteed.

Costco is Selling Out of Gold Bars

 I don’t think we need to remind you that REAL ASSETS increase in value when the government continues creating money out of thin air.  Folks begin to realize that the money they have sitting in their bank accounts is actually losing purchasing power so they look for some other asset that they hope will hold its value.  Gold is one of those places.  But we need to remind you that owning gold was illegal in the USA from the 1930’s to the 1970’s.  The government passed a law and took everyone’s gold.  I’m guessing it will happen again.

On April 5, 1933, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102, which forbade “the hoarding of gold coins, gold bullion, and gold certificates within the continental United States.”

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Costco is well-known as a place to get bargain prices on any variety of items, from food to luggage to appliances to gold bars.

Wait, gold bars?

Yes, the retail warehousing giant is your one-stop shop for 1 ounce gold PAMP Suisse Lady Fortuna Veriscan bars, handsomely detailed and ready for purchase.

They’re available for the bargain price of … well, you have to be a member to know that, but apparently they were selling for a little shy of $1,900 recently, according to chatter on Reddit. Spot gold most recently was going for $1,876.56 an ounce as of Wednesday afternoon.

Regardless of the price, gold is selling like hotcakes, judging by comments Tuesday from Costco Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti. Speaking on the company’s quarterly earnings call, Galanti said the bars are in hot demand and don’t last long when in stock.

“I’ve gotten a couple of calls that people have seen online that we’ve been selling 1 ounce gold bars,” he said. “Yes, but when we load them on the site, they’re typically gone within a few hours, and we limit two per member.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/27/costco-is-selling-gold-bars-and-they-are-selling-out-within-a-few-hours.html?recirc=taboolainternal

Life in America has NEVER Been More Unaffordable as it is Now

 It's really becoming obvious to many.  Here in little Buffalo, MN I know of a truck driver who was making around $100k and as a single man and he couldn't qualify to buy one of the cheapest houses in town that ended up selling for around $300k.  This was just a small, one level home with an attached single car garage.

My wife and I say it all the time that we feel bad for the next generation because they can't really have dreams of "someday let's move to such and such and have a hobby farm!"

I saw a recent article that back in 1972 the average home price was around $18,000 and the average salary was about $9,000.  Today the average salary was around $55,000 but the average home is now over $250,000.  So clearly home ownership is becoming a distant dream for many Americans.  This could help to explain why apartment buildings are going up in every town around us.

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Our standard of living is being systematically destroyed, but for a lot of years many Americans didn't fully understand what was taking place because it was happening so slowly.  But now we have reached a stage where the purchasing power of our money is collapsing and the cost of living has become exceedingly painful.  

Thanks to our rapidly rising cost of living, the middle class is becoming "the impoverished class", and the poor are increasingly being pushed out into the streets.  

If we do not find a way to turn these trends around, it won't be too long before we have tremendous societal turmoil on our hands.

Earlier today, I came across an article about a woman that found a receipt from Burger King that was dated August 10, 1986.

At that time you could buy a Whopper for just $1.54.

Today, that same Whopper will cost you $6.79...

A woman has been left stunned after discovering a retro Burger King receipt from the 1980s which reveals the staggering price increases that the fast food chain has implemented over the past four decades.

US-based Liza took to social media to share the receipt after her mother found it in a box in the garage while remodeling her home.

The faded paper from the fast food chain dates back to August 10, 1986, and lists three Whopper burgers purchased for $4.62 - which works out at $1.54 each.

A single Whopper burger currently costs $6.79 in today's money - over four times the price listed on the vintage receipt.

In other words, if you had $6.79 back then, you could buy four whoppers and you would still have money left over.

This is what inflation does.

It destroys our purchasing power.

Another woman named Melanie that makes 34 dollars an hour is so stressed financially that she literally tries to make one loaf of rye bread last her for the entire week...

"What I've started doing is I buy a loaf of rye bread, and I work really hard to keep that one loaf of rye bread lasting me the whole week. And I eat peanut butter, so I'll eat peanut butter toast whenever I'm hungry."

In the old days, if you were making 34 dollars an hour you were living the high life.

But now most people making 34 dollars an hour are just barely scraping by from month to month.

Of course it isn't just food that has become absurdly expensive.

At this point, homes in the U.S. have never been more unaffordable than they are right now.

The following was recently posted on Twitter by The Kobeissi Letter...

Inflation adjusted home prices are now 85% above their average dating back to 1900.

Even after accounting for inflation, home prices have never been more expensive than they are now.

In fact, inflation adjusted home prices are now 20% above their 2008 peak, the previous all time high.

The median home now sells for an alarming 530% of the median annual income.

Meanwhile, the median house payment is now a record 49% of median PRE-TAX income.

Affordability has never been worse.

We have never seen anything like this in the entire history of our country.

Here;  Life In America Has Never Been More Unaffordable Than It Is Right Now (prophecynewswatch.com)

I hate to say it but it is becoming very possible that we are the generation that is witnessing the end of the American Dream.  This shouldn't really be a surprise as we watch the FEAR OF THE LORD literally vanish from American's world view.  God blessed us for a reason and when we collectively remove God from the equation the blessings can very quickly vanish.

Signs Say Jesus is Coming Soon but So Few Are Paying Attention

For sure there is a convergence of signs like never before.  We don’t know the day of hour but we can sure see the signs for the coming Great Tribulation.  Click the link below to read all of them as I just posted a few paragraphs from this article.  And yes he does mention the “aliens” as one of the signs.😏

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We most assuredly live in biblical times. The convergence of signs is like that of the grand finale of a fireworks show that noisily illuminates the sky with its bright display of colors. Yet sadly, many believers and pastors turn their heads and walk away from the spectacle telling themselves and others, “There’s nothing to see here.”

I also believe the words of Proverbs 1:20 apply here: “Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:”

The myriad of signs, along with the voices of many students of Bible prophecy, sound the alarm regarding the nearness of the Tribulation. Wisdom continues to cry out with the message that Jesus is coming soon, but so few are paying attention.

A few months ago, I wrote about the blindness to such things in How Can You Not See? I still wonder how those who know Scripture can remain asleep and unaware of the signs that point to the nearness of Jesus’ appearing.

Now my question has progressed to: “How much longer can it be before Jesus catches us up to meet Him in the air?”

Below are several reasons that cause me to ask this question.

The Rush To Divide Israel

When I look at Israel on a world map, I need to put on my reading glasses and even then it’s difficult to discern the nation’s boundaries. Most countries this small receive little or no attention on the world stage. However, almost all the world leaders are now focused on both Israel and Jerusalem.

The Bible predicted this would happen at the time of the end (Zechariah 12:1-3). The U.S. and other nations have become preoccupied with settling the Palestinian matter, believing this will magically bring peace to the entire region.

During his speech at the UN, President Biden called for a two-state solution as the path toward peace in the region. When he met with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu seemed willing to go along with it to a limited degree, perhaps as part of the deal with Saudi Arabia that Netanyahu now predicts will become a reality sometime in early 2024.

The rush to divide Israel tells us that the Tribulation period is ever so near because it will be during this time that the Lord will judge the nations that cut up His Land (Joel 3:1-3). Those with a passion to provide a state for the Palestinians are fulfilling biblical prophecy; God said this would happen at the time of the end.

The Push For Digital Currencies

Another telling sign that speaks to the nearness of the Tribulation is the push for digital currencies.

During the September 2023 meeting of the G-20 nations in New Delhi, India, the leaders “agreed to a plan to eventually impose digital currencies and digital IDs on their respective populations, amid concern that governments might use them to monitor their people’s spending and crush dissent.” This pact includes a pledge “to build the necessary infrastructure to implement digital currencies and IDs.”

The antichrist needs such a system in place by the midpoint of the Tribulation in order to control the buying and selling throughout the world (Revelation 13:16-18). He won’t be able to do this if it’s possible for people to use cash or write checks for their purchases.

In America, the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is coming by way of the Federal Reserve’s FedNow, which has gone live. Many major banks are now participating in the program, which makes the transferring of money immediate.

David Bowen, in his article, FedNow Goes Live, Paving The Way To A Central Bank Digital Currency on Harbinger’s Daily, wrote this about the matter:

The Federal Reserve claims this is the alternative to a CBDC — a Central Bank Digital Currency. But really, what this is a stepping stone to a CBDC. Once the public gets more comfortable with the speed of FedNow and the system is accepted as the standard procedure, you’ll get a Central Bank Digital Currency.

The inevitable collapse of the economy in the U.S. will speed up the path to a CBDC in America, which will quickly become a unified worldwide currency during the Tribulation if not before it starts.

The Threat Of World War III

 https://harbingersdaily.com/the-convergence-of-signs-cry-out-that-jesus-is-coming-soon-but-so-few-are-paying-attention/

NASA Reveals Latest Weapon to Search for Aliens

Nothing really fascinating to see here in this Fox News article.  NASA is going to use Artificial Intelligence to help solve the UFO and alien dilemma.  What could possible go wrong with that scenario when a Satanically manipulated intelligence goes looking into outer space for demons masquerading as advance life forms from other planets?  But you just gotta love all these headlines with aliens and UFO’s.  It’s a sign of the times.

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 Artificial intelligence and machine learning will be "essential" to finding and proving the existence of extraterrestrial life and UFOs, NASA said.

The space agency recently released its highly anticipated 36-page UFO report that said NASA doesn't have enough high-quality data to make a "definitive, scientific conclusion" about the origin of UFOs.

Moving forward, AI will be vital to pinpointing anomalies while combing through large datasets, according to the report compiled by NASA's independent research team on UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena), a fancy word for UFO.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/nasa-reveals-latest-weapon-search-heavens-ufos-aliens

Leaders at UN Make a 7 year Agreement

 This is an interesting headline because Bible readers know that the AntiChrist will confirm some type of peace agreement for 7 years.  So when we see the leaders of the world talking about a 7 year agreement we should look up and say, "Ooooo!"

Have you heard about the agreement that global leaders adopted at the United Nations during the "2023 SDG Summit" that was held earlier last week?  Officials from all over the world gathered in New York City to commit their nations to fully implement the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals over the next 7 years.  

If you are not familiar with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, you can find them right here.

These are essentially a blueprint for how the globalists want the world to be run.  Just about every area of human activity is covered by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and it would take extreme measures over the next 7 years in order to achieve all of them by the deadline.

 But that was what the "2023 SDG Summit" was all about.

Leaders from all over the planet got together and pledged to do whatever is necessary to meet those goals on time.

They are calling it "a new phase of accelerated progress".  The following comes directly from the official UN webpage about this summit...

The 2023 SDG Summit took place on 18-19 September 2023 in New York. It marked the beginning of a new phase of accelerated progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals with high-level political guidance on transformative and accelerated actions leading up to 2030.

Convened by the President of the General Assembly, the Summit marked the half-way point to the deadline set for achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. It was the centerpiece of the High-level Week of the General Assembly. It responded to the impact of multiple and interlocking crises facing the world and is expected to reignite a sense of hope, optimism, and enthusiasm for the 2030 Agenda.

The globalists really do intend to implement the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals by the time the UN General Assembly convenes in September 2030.

That is just 7 years from now, and so the clock is ticking.

During the "2023 SDG Summit", global leaders "adopted a sweeping Political Declaration" in which they committed themselves to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals within the next 7 years...

Kicking off the second half of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, world leaders at the SDG Summit 2023 today adopted a sweeping Political Declaration to reaffirm their shared commitment to end poverty and hunger everywhere, combat inequalities within and among countries and build peaceful societies that leave no one behind.

The adoption of the 10-page document, by the Heads of State and Government and high representatives gathering at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, came at a critical juncture as global crises -- including armed conflict, adverse climate impacts and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic -- threaten the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

The "Political Declaration" is 10 pages long, and you can read it for yourself right here.

On the fifth page of the document, we are told that there is an "urgent need to take the actions necessary to reverse declines and accelerate progress to achieve the 2030 Agenda and implement the SDGs."

So what will it look like as we "accelerate progress" toward those goals?

Here;  Leaders At The UN Make A 7 Year Agreement To Implement A Single Global Agenda (prophecynewswatch.com)

Of course the Antichrist will include some type of "Peace language" in the covenant that he confirms, so we don't believe this is the actual agreement.

Also please note that the GREAT RESET that so many are chattering about is set in the globalists goals for 2030, which is 7 years away from 2023.

"Ooooo!"

“Six or Seven Muslim Countries Will Follow Saudis and Make Peace With Israel”

 Peace! Peace! Peace in the Middle East!  “While they are saying, ‘peace and safety’, destruction will fall upon them suddenly”

We blogged on it yesterday that all this Abraham Peace Accords making peace between Muslims and Jews  could be the pre-cursor to the plan that Antichrist confirms when he shows up sometime after the rapture.

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“There are another six or seven countries that will join that peace agreement, that I have met with – significant Muslim countries with which we do not have relations that are interested,” he said.

He then backtracked slightly, saying that he had personally met with “several” of those countries’ representatives. He refused to name them, saying simply that they are “from Africa and Asia.”

When asked, he said that normalization with Saudi Arabia was “definitely possible,” pointing to the “historic statement” that Saudi Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman made during his interview on Fox News, “when he turned directly to the camera and said that they are reaching for a peace agreement.”

“Every day we’re getting closer,” he added, saying that the next leader of Saudi Arabia would not have spoken that way in public if a deal was not reachable.

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told Kan News Friday that he believes “at least” half a dozen Muslim countries will follow Saudi Arabia’s lead, should Riyadh and Jerusalem normalize ties.

Cohen was interviewed at the United Nations after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of how a “new Middle East” is being created as more Arab countries establish diplomatic relations with Israel. Cohen noted that during his General Assembly address, Netanyahu had said that “a peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia also means peace between the Jewish people and the greater Muslim world.”

https://worldisraelnews.com/six-or-seven-muslim-countries-will-follow-saudis-to-normalize-ties-with-israel-foreign-minister/

Netanyahu and Peace with Saudi Arabia

He quotes the Bible and tells the world they can choose blessings or curses. Peace with Saudis or war with Iran?  This is super interesting because Bible says Antichrist will “confirm” a peace agreement so might be that signs off on an agreement already made?  And peace with Saudis could get a lot of other Arab-Muslim nations to follow suit.

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JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – In his first in-person address to the United Nations General Assembly in five years, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu painted two dramatic visions of the future and urged the leaders of the world to choose.

It was one of the finest speeches I have ever heard him deliver.

And I believe it will be well received in the two capitals that Netanyahu cares about most right now.

Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, where Bibi was speaking directly to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud.

And Washington, where Bibi is determined to heal the breach between himself and President Joe Biden.

One vision, Netanyahu said, is a world in which: 

• Israel and Saudi Arabia make an historic and transformational peace treaty and many Arab and Muslim states follow suit

• Iran and the Palestinians choose peace instead of terrorism and nuclear war

• The world cooperates to insure that Artificial Intelligence (AI) brings dramatic new blessings of peace and prosperity to all of mankind

The other vision, Netanyahu argued, is a world in which: 

• Iran and the Palestinians choose war instead of peace

• The world does nothing to stop the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons and a terrible war erupts in the Middle East

• Artificial Intelligence replaces humanity with machines, jobs are decimated, tyranny reigns, and AI leads the world into an unimaginable and catastrophic war

 https://allisrael.com/quoting-bible-netanyahu-tells-world-leaders-you-have-a-choice-between-a-blessing-or-a-curse-peace-with-saudis-or-war-with-iran