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An article on Israel365 News provides a surprising confirmation that the church is the Temple of God.

Israel365 News is operated by Orthodox Jews based in Israel. Although, they don’t believe Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, they still believe their Messiah is coming soon. As part of His arrival there will be a third Jewish Temple.

In the article, Israel365 reported on the remarks made by Moshe Feiglin, an Orthodox Jew and Israeli politician who believes that there will be a third Jewish temple.

Feiglin used to be part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party. However, in 2015, after being hindered from advancing in Likud, Feiglin formed his own orthodox political party, Zehut. It has since grown into one of the more prominent orthodox political parties in Israel.

In a statement to members of Zehut, Feiglin spoke of the building of a third Jewish Temple.

The Temple Mount currently has two Islamic buildings on the site, the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Many scholars and Jewish traditions hold that the Mosque is built over the site of the original Jewish Temple, that was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans.

Feiglin believes that at some point in the future, the Muslims will simply abandon the Mosque, preparing the way for the Temple.

But this is where it gets interesting because Feiglin added that Biblical prophecy indicates that the gentiles will play a major role in the construction of the third Jewish Temple.

He cited Isaiah 56:7 that speaks of how the Temple will be a house of prayer for everyone including the gentiles:

“Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer… for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7)

The prophet Zechariah goes one step further adding that the gentiles will be involved in the actual construction of the third temple:

“And those who are far off shall come and build the Temple of the LORD, and you shall know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me to you” (Zechariah 6:15)

The verse indicates this will occur at the Messiah’s arrival, as it states: “you shall know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me to you.”

Jewish tradition holds that this verse was partially fulfilled in the construction of the Second Temple, which is the one that Jesus visited. Not only did a Persian king provide initial support in its construction, but a major renovation was paid for by King Herod.

Because of these verses Feiglin believes that gentiles will also play a significant role in the construction of a third Jewish Temple. However, a physical Third Temple alone would not fully satisfy these prophecies.

It does not fulfill Isaiah’s prediction that the Temple would become a House of Prayer for the gentiles. Nor does it fulfill the promise made by Zechariah, that God would dwell among the nations.

“And many nations will join themselves to the Lordon that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of armies has sent Me to you. (Zechariah 2:11)

If we look at the Temple as a physical building, for God to dwell among the nations there would need to be a Temple constructed in every country.

But as we look at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the gentiles in Acts 10, we witness a significant expansion of God’s Kingdom to include the Gentiles.

And because of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, those who believed in His death and resurrection were filled with the Holy Spirit.

The primary purpose of the Temple was to house the Ark of the Covenant on which the very presence of God dwelt.

With the Holy Spirit now dwelling within people, Paul states that believers and the church became the Temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; Ephesians 2:20-22).

The Temple moved from a physical building to a spiritual one. So as churches were constructed in nations around the world, this fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy of God dwelling in the nations.

This is why the Israel365 article, though written from a different theological perspective, unwittingly points to a truth Christians have long affirmed.

ESPAÑOL: ¿Fueron Moisés y un Poderoso Egipcio Llamado Senenmut la Misma Persona? Evidencia Arqueológica de un Héroe Bíblico

While skeptics have questioned Moses’ existence because there is no mention of him in the Egyptian records, an interesting article in the Daily Mail suggests this may not have been the case.

The article, based on research provided by the Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology, states that a mysterious man by the name of Senenmut who rose to incredible heights within the Egyptian Empire was none other than Moses.

Senenmut was his Egyptian name, and Moses his Hebrew one.

Most of us are familiar with the story of Moses who was raised by the Pharaoh’s daughter after his Hebrew mother put him in a basket on the Nile River to save him from the Pharaoh’s order to kill all the Hebrew male infants.

And this is when the interesting parallels begin to appear.

First, the Egyptian records reveal that Senenmut was a commoner who first rose to prominence during the reign of Hatshepsut, one of Egypt’s first female pharaohs.

Writing for the Armstrong Institute, Christopher Eames believes Hatshepsut as a young princess was the one who found Moses in the Nile marsh and raised him as her own son.

The Egyptian records even state that Hatshepsut’s spirit was “inclined toward foreign people.” We know from the Biblical record, that the princess recognized immediately this was a Hebrew baby (Exodus 2:6), but took him in anyways.

Other Egyptian records state that Senenmut had ‘come forth from the flood’ — echoing the Biblical account in which Moses received his name because Pharaoh’s daughter ‘drew him out of the water’ (Exodus 2:10).

Additionally, Senenmut was even given a god-like status because other Egyptian records state that he was able to control ‘even the Nile.’

Coincidentally, the first of the plagues that God had Moses perform was turning the Nile blood red. From the Egyptian perspective it looked like Moses had killed the Nile.

This god-like status may explain why Senenmut became so powerful in the Egyptian government.

When Hatshepsut rose to Pharaoh around 1479 BC, Senenmut became one of her key advisors. He was a powerful man who received over 90 titles.

Senenmut was an architect and heavily involved in construction projects. This would explain why Moses was on a building site when he caught an Egyptian guard beating a Hebrew slave.

But the fact that Moses was able to dispatch an armed Egyptian also links him to Senenmut. This is because the Egyptian records reveal that Senenmut was a military commander who led several successful Egyptian campaigns in what is today Ethiopia and Sudan.

In other words, if Moses and Senenmut were the same person, he was a trained soldier and accustomed to violence.

And the Armstrong Institute was not the first to make this connection between Senenmut and Moses — the ancient Jewish historian Josephus who died around 100 AD, also did.

In his book Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus provided an extensive breakdown of Moses’ military accomplishments in Ethiopia while serving as an Egyptian commander.

Josephus believed Senenmut and Moses were one and the same person.

Archaeologists have found other interesting similarities. Several statues have been found of Senenmut, rivalling that of the royal family. This is very unusual since he was a commoner.

There is even a statue of Senenmut holding Hatshepsut’s daughter. Since it was absolutely forbidden for a commoner to even touch someone in the Pharaoh’s family, much less hold them, how was a commoner able to do this?

It suggests that Senenmut, like Moses, had been adopted into Hatshepsut’s family. The name, Senenmut, even hints at this close family tie as it has been translated as meaning “mother’s brother.”

And the similarities continue. Because despite his prominence, the Egyptian records show that Senenmut suddenly disappeared.

He left behind two uncompleted tombs. They had not only been abandoned, both were also sealed. Archaeologists discovered that his unfinished sarcophagus had been smashed, suggesting some type of personal vendetta.

Some of Senenmut’s statues were also vandalized.

This falls in line with Moses’ fall from favor in the Egyptian court. After killing the Egyptian guard, Moses fled to Midian before returning to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt.

And the New Testament even hints of this connection between Senenmut and Moses.

In a speech given before his martyrdom, Stephen said that Moses “was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was proficient in speaking and action” (Acts 7:22).

Having been raised in Pharaoh’s court, Moses received the best education available including math, astronomy, architecture and engineering.

But Stephen adds that Moses was also famous for his actions or what he had accomplished. Though there was no hint of this in the Exodus account, Stephen implies that Moses had many notable achievements during his forty years in the Egyptian court.

How did Stephen come to this conclusion?

I suspect he was referring to that ancient connection between Senenmut and Moses.

This god-like status may explain why Senenmut became so powerful in the Egyptian government.

When Hatshepsut rose to Pharaoh between 1479 BC to 1458 BC, Senenmut became one of her key advisors. He was a powerful man who received over 90 titles.

He was an architect and heavily involved in construction projects. This explains why Moses was on a building site when he caught an Egyptian guard beating a Hebrew slave.

But the fact that Moses was able to dispatch an armed Egyptian also links him to Senenmut. This is because the Egyptian records state that Senenmut was a military commander who led several successful Egyptian campaigns in what is today Ethiopia and Sudan.

In other words, if Moses and Senenmut were the same person, he had witnessed and perhaps even participated in battles. He was accustomed to violence.

And the Armstrong Institute was not the first to make this military connection between Senenmut and Moses — the ancient Jewish historian Josephus who died around 100 AD, made the same argument.

Although, the Bible does not mention that Moses was in charge of any military operations while serving in the Egyptian court, in his book Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus provided an extensive breakdown of Moses’ military accomplishments in Ethiopia while serving as an Egyptian commander.

Josephus believed Senenmut and Moses were one and the same person.

Archaeologists have found other interesting similarities. Several statues have been found of Senenmut, rivalling that of the royal family. This is very unusual since he was a commoner.

There is even a statue of Senenmut holding Hatshepsut’s daughter. Since it was absolutely forbidden for a commoner to even touch someone in the Pharaoh’s family, much less hold them, how was a commoner able to do this?

It suggests that Senenmut, like Moses, had been adopted into Hatshepsut’s family. The name, Senenmut, even hints at this close family tie as it has been translated as meaning “mother’s brother.”

And the similarities continue. Because as prominent as Senenmut was, the Egyptian records show that he suddenly disappeared.

Senenmut left behind two uncompleted tombs. They had not only been abandoned, both were also sealed. Archaeologists discovered that his unfinished sarcophagus was completely smashed, suggesting some type of personal vendetta.

Some of Senenmut’s statues had similarly been vandalized.

This falls in line with Moses’ fall from favor in the Egyptian court.

After killing the Egyptian guard, Moses fled to Midian before returning to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt.

And the New Testament even hints of this connection between Senenmut and Moses.

In a speech given before his martyrdom, Stephen said that Moses “was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was proficient in speaking and action” (Acts 7:22).

Having been raised in Pharaoh’s court, Moses received the best education available including math, astronomy, architecture and engineering.

But Stephen adds that Moses was also famous for his actions or what he had accomplished. Though there was no hint of this in the Exodus account, Stephen implies that Moses had many notable achievements during his forty years in the Egyptian court.

How did Stephen come to this conclusion?

I suspect he was referring to that ancient connection between Senenmut and Moses.

Hi my name is Dean. Kim Kardashian is the most famous of the Kardashian family. She gained her fame starring in the reality TV show Keeping up with the Kardashians which ran from 2007 to 2021.

In 2015, the Daily Mail published the story of how a prophetic word given by a 11-year-old boy saved the Kardashian family from the Armenian genocide.

The Kardashians originated in Russia and went by the name Kardaschoffs. In the mid 1800s, they moved to the village of Karakale, located in modern Turkey.

The family was considered religious rebels as they attended a Molokan church which had been branded heretics by the Russian Orthodox Church.

The particular Molokan group the Kardashians attended was impacted by an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in 1833. 

Their services had a very pentecostal flavor. This  included raising hands, dancing, prophecy, miracles and other manifestations such as being slain in the spirit, and laughing.

During the 1850s an 11-year-old boy, Efim Klubnikin, gave a prophetic word that many Armenians would die unless they fled to a land across the great ocean.

He prophesied:

“Those who believe in this will go on a journey to a far land, while the unbelievers will remain in place. Our people will go on a long journey over the great and deep waters. People from all countries will go there. There will be a great war. All kings will shed blood like great rivers. Two steamships will leave to cross the impassable ocean.”

Because it came from a child, the Molokans ignored the prophecy.

But in 1901, a much older Efim called a meeting of the Molokan elders. He reminded them of the prophetic word he gave 40 years earlier.

Efim then added two further revelations. First, the Armenians needed to move quickly because the government would soon close the door to departures.

Secondly, he used a crudely drawn map telling them they needed to go to Los Angeles, California.

Over the next decade, 2,000 Armenians obeyed the prophecy and fled to America.

This included the Kardashian’s great grandfather Tatos, who would eventually marry fellow Armenian and Molokan refugee, Hamas Shakarian.

So why did prophecy tell them to specifically go to the US West Coast? The answer may lie in the Azusa Street Pentecostal Revival that took place in Los Angeles between 1906 and 1915. 

Because of their previous experience with the Holy Spirit, the Molokans played an important role in this outpouring which sparked the world-wide Pentecostal movement.

Those who fled Armenia not only avoided World War I, but they escaped the terrifying Armenian genocide that took place between 1915 and 23, where it’s estimated the Ottoman Empire slaughtered upwards of 1.5 million Armenians. 

This would have included the Kardashian’s ancestors, as everyone in the village of Karakale, where they came from, was killed.

Thanks for joining me on this podcast and I will catch you again.

ESPAÑOL: Maldijo Jesús en secreto el Templo Judío asegurando que nunca sería reconstruido?

A recent Israel365 News article highlighted the importance of a third Jewish temple for the Jewish faith. Yet an incident recorded in both Matthew and Mark hints that Jesus may have secretly cursed the temple, ensuring it will never be rebuilt.

In his article, Adam Berkowitz wrote about three pronouncements made by Israel’s nascent Sanhedrin which was set up in 2004, as a rabbinical court of Jewish law.

It hopes to eventually have the Israeli government recognize it as the country’s official Sanhedrin and integrate it into the political and legal system.

Though this hasn’t happened yet, the nascent Sanhedrin released three psaks.

According to Berkowitz, a psak is a “binding halachic ruling, and that, in matters concerning the fate of the Jewish people, a court above is bound to follow the ruling of a court below.”

In other words, these psaks uttered by the lower Sanhedrin court will be carried out by the higher Heavenly court.

One psak called for the removal of all of Israel’s enemies. Another called for the return of a spirit of prophecy, and a third called for the Messiah to be revealed and the Jewish temple rebuilt.

In its psak about the Temple, the nascent Sanhedrin declared:

“The court asks that the Holy One, Blessed Be He, reveal our righteous Mashiach. The court asks that the Holy One, Blessed Be He, remove and erase every obstacle so that we may build the Beit HaMikdash.”

The Beit HaMikdash refers to the Jewish Temple which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Berkowitz added, “The document closes by repeating the formula that just as the court below has ruled, the court above should rule the same, “and so may it stand.”

But I am not convinced the latter will happen. Not only did Jesus prophesy the destruction of the Temple in Matthew 24, but the Lord’s cursing of a fig tree may have permanently sealed the Temple’s fate.

There are incidents in the Gospels that seem totally out of place with their surrounding context. Some scholars have developed a method for interpreting these passages.

Called the sandwich theory, it states that if what takes place before and after an incident shares the same theme, then the story in the middle is connected to that same theme.

Similar to the sandwich, what is in the middle is the key point of what is really taking place.

In Matthew 21, we have the story of Jesus cursing the fig tree. The Lord went to the tree looking for figs, but it had none because it was out of season. Yet despite it being out of season, Jesus cursed the tree and it died.

But immediately before this account, Jesus had just cleansed the Temple, after which He and the disciples withdrew to Bethany.

It was on this journey that they encountered the fig tree.

The next day, Jesus and the disciples returned to the Temple and were immediately confronted by the priests over what He had done the previous day.

So if the incidents before and after involved the temple, then according to the sandwich theory, the fig tree story is also about the temple. In fact, it is the main part of this spiritual sandwich.

If this is the case, it suggests that Jesus was actually cursing the temple.

Matthew noted that Jesus cursed the fig tree with these words, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you” (Matthew 21:19).

Mark repeated the curse and added that the fig tree was “withered from the roots up” (Mark 11:20). This meant there was no chance of regrowth. It was permanently dead.

So if the fig tree was secretly the temple, this means it will never be rebuilt.

We know that Jesus’ attitude towards the temple was the catalyst behind His arrest.

When the Jewish High Priest Caiaphas arrested Jesus, one of the first charges he brought against the Lord was that He wanted to destroy the temple (Matthew 26:59-61).

But I suspect in the fig tree account recorded in Matthew 21, Jesus was delivering the final verdict on the temple. Then three chapters later, the Lord would prophesy its complete destruction.

ESPAÑOL: Un Evento Sobrenatural Ocurrió Sobre Jerusalén Justo Antes de la Destrucción del Templo en el 70 d.C.

A very strange thing happened in the skies above Jerusalem four years before the Romans destroyed the Jewish Temple in 70 AD.

This supernatural event was not only reported by a first century Jewish historian Josephus, but a Roman one as well.

In his book, Jewish Wars, Josephus reported seeing angels and chariots in the sky over Jerusalem around 66 AD. 

Josephus wrote:

“Chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were running among the clouds.”

He even admitted that people would have a hard time believing his story, describing it as beyond belief, but he said others had seen it as well.

But this story takes an interesting twist as a first century Roman historian, Tacitus, also wrote about this incident in his book, Histories: 

“There had been seen hosts joining battle in the skies, the fiery gleam of arms, the temple illuminated by a sudden radiance from the clouds.”

Tacitus’ version was slightly different revealing he was using another source. He not only wrote of a battle taking place in the heavenlies, Tacitus added that the Jewish temple was illuminated by a radiant light.

This suggested that the temple was the focus of the angelic war occurring above Jerusalem.

We know that Angels played a major role in many Biblical events. Psalms 78:49 tells us that God sent quote “a band of destroying angels” into Egypt prior to the Israel’s Exodus. They undoubtedly battled the demonic angels in Egypt, preparing for Israel’s exodus. 

We also know from Daniel 10, that Godly Angels literally fought, the demonic Prince of Persia to prepare for Israel’s return to the Promised land.

God uses angels to accomplish His purposes. 

But there are a couple of big ‘Ifs” to this account. If there was an Angelic battle over Jerusalem just prior to the temple being destroyed and if this battle was about the Temple what does this tell us?

In Matthew 24, Jesus prophesied that the temple was going to be obliterated and not one stone would be on top of another.

This was God’s prophetic will and this is exactly what happened. 

So if Godly angels were battling in the skies above Jerusalem to ensure that the Jewish Temple was destroyed, who were they fighting?

But the bigger question is why was the temple destroyed?

Well after Jesus cleansed the temple, the priests asked for a sign the Lord had authority to do this in John chapter two. Jesus said destroy this temple and in three days He would raise it up again. 

After being mocked by the impossibility of this feat, John writes in verse 21, that Jesus was talking about His body, which today is the church. 

God was replacing the physical Temple with a spiritual one.

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ESPAÑOL: ¿Detuvo Dios la Construcción de un Tercer Templo Judío?

Since the Romans destroyed the Jewish Temple in 70 AD, the building of a third Jewish Temple has been a high priority for orthodox Jews.

Some Christians support it believing the temple is part of the End Times. They cite 2 Thessalonians 2, where Paul talks about the Antichrist proclaiming himself to be god and sitting in the temple and Revelation 11, where the apostle John is told to measure the temple.  

Now some believe this is a physical temple, while others believe it is spiritual.

Over the centuries there have been several attempts to build a Temple in Jerusalem.

Perhaps the closest came in 361 AD, when Julian the apostate became the emperor of Rome. 

Christianity was now the dominant religion in the Roman Empire.

However, Julian, who had been raised Christian, rejected his faith and sought to return Rome to its pagan roots. Thus the nickname Apostate.

This included restoring the pagan temples and even providing the financing to help construction.

As part of his agenda, Julian allowed the Jews to build a third Jewish temple. 

Though Julian provided financial help, Hilkiycah, a prominent Rabbi, argued that gentile money should not be used in constructing the temple.

Whether Julian’s money was used or not, the Jews started building.

They had government support. They obviously had the finances and they had the workers. 

But something strange happened.

Ammianus Marcellinus, a pagan historian and close friend of Emperor Julian, explained what took place in his book, The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus:    

Julian thought to rebuild at an extravagant expense the proud Temple once at Jerusalem, and committed this task to Alypius of Antioch. Alypius set vigorously to work, and was seconded by the governor of the province; when fearful balls of fire, breaking out near the foundations, continued their attacks, till the workmen, after repeated scorchings, could approach no more: and he gave up the attempt.

He said balls of fire poured out of the ground, forcing the workers to stop construction. As a friend of Julian, Marcellinus would have been supportive of the emperor’s policies, so he wouldn’t be prone to embellishing a negative story.

In his book, Historia Ecclesiastica, Christian historian named Sozomen, who died in 450 AD, also stated that fires stopped the construction. He added that an earthquake which destroyed the work already completed was the final blow that ended the project.

We have no idea what caused those fires, but do know that a major earthquake hit the area in 363 AD. 

Then to top it off, Julian the Apostate, the driving force behind the temple’s construction, was killed in battle that same year, limiting his reign to less than three years. 

While secularists call it a coincidence, Christians called it providential. They believed God removed Julian because the Lord has done similar things in the past.

A Godly angel killed King Herod in Acts 12:23. God also struck down the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar, with madness in Daniel 4:32-33. 

The Christians also believed God was instrumental in stopping the construction of the Jewish Temple. 

Why?

Because according to the Apostle Paul, the church and believers who are filled with the Holy Spirit are now God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). 

ESPAÑOL: El Mensaje Subliminal Detrás de Jesús Caminando sobre el Agua

One of the more notable stories in the Gospels is the time Jesus walked on water.

But it’s easy to miss the hidden message within this miracle.

According to Mark 6, after miraculously feeding 5,000 people, Jesus told His disciples to go by boat across the Sea of Galilee to Bethesda. Jesus remained behind to pray.

Because the Sea of Galilee is surrounded by mountains, storms pop up quickly when the cooler mountain air mixes with Galilee’s warm moist air.

As the disciples were crossing they were hit with a sudden storm. The wind was pushing against them and as the disciples struggled with the oars. Jesus suddenly appeared walking on the water.

Shocked, the disciples initially thought they were seeing a ghost.

While there is certainly the miraculous element to this story, many miss the bigger message. Without stating it outright, Jesus was demonstrating that He was Jehovah in the flesh.

This is seen from several passages throughout the Old Testament that speak of God walking on water.

It starts off with arguably the Bible’s oldest book, Job, which describes the power of God with these words:

He who commands the sun, and it does not shine
and seals up the stars,
8 he alone spreads out the heavens,
and treads on the waves of the sea. (Job 9:7-8) .

The idea of Jehovah walking on water is seen again in Psalm 77. This passage starts off in verse 11 attributing what follows to Jehovah (LORD in all caps).

You walked through the sea;
you passed through the surging waters,
but left no footprints. (Psalm 77:19)

Notice how the passage emphasizes, the miraculous nature of this because, Jehovah left no footprints.

The same idea is presented again in Isaiah 43:16.

Now Jesus was doing exactly the same thing.

But Mark alludes to Jesus being Jehovah with a second odd phrase, when he writes that Jesus ‘came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them” (Mark 6:48 ESV).

This phrase was significant and one Jews were very familiar with. This is because it connects back to Moses who desired to see God’s Glory in Exodus 33:18. However, Jehovah told Moses that if any man sees God’s face they would die.

Twice in verse 22, Jehovah said He would ‘pass by’ Moses allowing him to see God’s back:

Without saying it, Jesus was demonstrating to His disciples that He was the Son of God, Jehovah in the flesh.

Matthew adds:

And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are truly God’s Son!” (Matthew 14:33)

This is the same Greek word the writer of Hebrews used to describe angels worshiping God in Hebrews 1 verse 6.

It was the first time that the disciples worshiped Christ as they finally recognized they were seeing God in the flesh. 

The Kardashians are one of America’s most prominent celebrity families. Today, they are household names, but if it wasn’t for a 175 year old  prophetic word, the family wouldn’t even exist.

Kim Kardashian, 46, is perhaps the most famous of the Kardashian family. She gained her fame starring in the reality TV show Keeping up with the Kardashians, along with her sisters Kloe and Kourtney and other family members.  The show ran from 2007 to 2021.

It was rumored Kim was the highest paid reality star at the time. She along with her sisters branched out to other TV programs, movies and the retail and fashion industry.

Kloe is reportedly a Christian and provides a daily devotionals for members of her Glam squad.  

Their father, Robert Kardashian, was famous for his role in helping defend former NFL star OJ Simpson in his notorious 1995 murder trial.

According to Wikipedia, several members of the family have assets in excess of one billion dollars.

In 2015, the Daily Mail published the unusual story of how a prophetic word given by a 11-year-old boy saved the Kardashian family on the father’s side from the Armenian genocide.

The article was titled, Keeping up with the Kardashians circa 1900! How Kim’s ancestors heeded prophet’s warning of looming slaughter to escape rural Armenia for a new life in the US.

The Kardashian family originated in Russia and at that time went by the last name Kardaschoffs. In the mid 1800s, they moved to the village of Karakale, located in present-day Turkey in the shadow of the Ararat Mountains, the resting place of Noah’s ark.

The family was considered religious rebels as they did not belong to the Russian Orthodox church but instead favored a protestant group called the Molokans which translated means milk-lovers. 

They were tagged with the name because on Russian Orthodox fast days they drank milk which was forbidden.

The Russian Orthodox church branded them as heretics and heavily persecuted the group.

The particular Molokan group the Kardashian family belonged to was impacted by an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in 1833. 

As a result, their services took on a very pentecostal flavor. This  included raising hands in worship, dancing (jumping), prophecy and other Holy Spirit manifestations such as being slain in the spirit, and laughing. There was also a release of miracles said to rival what happened in the early church.

This outpouring may have been connected to the Cane Ridge Revival that broke out in the US state of Kentucky three decades earlier. It had very similar manifestations.

According to the Revival Library, one of the unusual characteristics of the Cane Ridge Revival was how young children were giving prophetic words. 

It writes, that children delivered quote ‘powerful exhortations that deeply moved the attendees” and were “often filled with surprising spiritual insights”. unquote

The same thing took place in the revival that hit the Molokan group.

During the 1850s a 11-year-old boy, Efim Klubnikin, gave a prophetic word that many Armenians would die unless they fled to a land across the great ocean.

He prophesied:

“Those who believe in this will go on a journey to a far land, while the unbelievers will remain in place. Our people will go on a long journey over the great and deep waters. People from all countries will go there. There will be a great war. All kings will shed blood like great rivers. Two steamships will leave to cross the impassable ocean.”

Though the Molokans believed in prophecy, unlike the Cane Ridge Revival, they ignored the prophetic word because it came from a young child.

However, in 1901, Efim, now grown up, called a meeting of the elders of Molokan churches and villages in the area surrounding Karakale. He reminded them of the prophetic word he received 40 years earlier. He told them the decades-old prophecy would soon come to pass and people needed to leave.

But then Efim added two further revelations. One was a warning that there was only a small window of opportunity. The Armenians needed to move quickly because the government would soon close the door to people leaving the country.

The second was that they were not only to go to the US but to America’s west coast and used a crudely drawn map to point to California and Los Angeles in particular.

Over the next decade or so, about 2,000 Armenians obeyed the prophecy, abandoned their homes and fled to America. Those who stayed behind often mocked the families as they departed.

In 1913, the Kardashian family’s great grandfather Tatos Kardashian, then 17, headed on a steamer to America following his parents, who had left a few weeks earlier to Los Angeles. Tatos would eventually marry fellow Armenian and Molokan refugee, Hamas Shakarian.

Demos Shakarian, father of Tatos’ wife Hamas, became a famous pentecostal preacher in Los Angeles. His grandson, who was given the same name, Demos Shakarian, founded the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship in 1952.

Both sides of the Kardashian family tree heeded the prophetic warning.

What I found unusual was why the prophecy told them to specifically go to the US West Coast. The answer to that question may lie in the Azusa Street Pentecostal Revival that took place in Los Angeles between 1906 and 1915. 

Because of their previous experience with the Holy Spirit, the Molokans in both doctrine and spirit played an important role in this Holy Spirit outpouring which sparked the world-wide Pentecostal movement.

Those who left not only avoided World War I, but they escaped the terrifying Armenian genocide that took place between 1915 and 23, where it’s estimated that the Ottoman Empire slaughtered upwards of 1.5 million Armenians. 

According to Wikipedia, between 1915 and 1916, the Ottoman government sent 800,000 Armenians on death marches to Syria. Not only were they sent without food and water but at different stages of the journey, thousands were separated from the groups and massacred either by shooting, driving them off of cliffs or tying them together and throwing them into rivers. 

The Euphrates and Tigris rivers were so full of bodies that at times explosives were needed to break up blockades.

Upwards of 200,000 Armenians, mostly young women and children, were forced to convert to Islam. Many were sold into slavery.

Every Armanean in the village of Karakale, where the Kardashians family came from, was reportedly killed during the genocide.

And if wasn’t for a prophetic word, the Kardashian family’s ancestors would have been among the dead. 

It reveals that the spiritual gifts did not end with the apostolic age. The Holy Spirit is still active today and desires to use spiritual gifts, like the gift of prophecy, to build the Lord’s church. 

Thanks for joining on this podcast, and I will catch you again.

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ESPAÑOL: ¿Por qué Jesús predicó a los espíritus encarcelados entre su muerte y su resurrección?

A strange Bible passages found in 1 Peter 3 says that between Christ’s death and resurrection, the Lord preached to spirits imprisoned during the days of Noah:

“He also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison, 20 who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark,…” (1 Peter 3:19-20)

Who were these spirits?

We have one of two choices. They were either supernatural beings or the spirits of dead people.

Some have wondered if these were the spirits of people who died during the flood. But the verse says these spirits were imprisoned while the Ark was being constructed. The flood hadn’t happened yet.

Peter brings more clarity in his second letter, where he alludes again to imprisoned supernatural beings during the Days of Noah. This time Peter clearly states that these were angels (Greek aggelos) writing:

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, held for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly. (2 Peter 2:4)

So this takes us back to a strange event that took place in the lead up to the flood recorded in Genesis 6.

We are told that the sons of God married the daughters of men in Genesis 6:2. Throughout the Bible the sons of God describe angelic beings (see Job 1:6).

These interspecies’ marriages between disobedient angels and human women produced men of renown. But it also contaminated the human DNA producing an increasingly violent society.

In the process of explaining why God chose Noah and his family, we see why God sent the flood. In Genesis 6:9, we are told that Noah was “perfect in his generations.” In other words, his family had not been contaminated by angelic DNA.

The flood rid the world of any contaminated angelic DNA. It was a reset of the human DNA back to its original form.

Now people often argue that the sons of God can’t be angels because Jesus says at the resurrection there will be no marriage, because we will be like the angels in Matthew 22:30.

People often interpret this as meaning angels can’t have sex. But I think it’s better understood in the context of Roman Catholic priests. Though they are forbidden to marry, they still could.

So this leads to the obvious question, why did Jesus preach to those imprisoned evil spirits?

The answer is found in the fall of Adam and Eve. In the judgment on the deceiving serpent, God said that one of Adam and Eve’s descendants would crush satan’s head in Genesis 3:15.

Knowing this judgment was coming, Satan tried to head it off by contaminating the human DNA.

His plan failed.

Between Christ’s death and resurrection, Jesus went to these imprisoned demonic spirits behind this plot and exposed their defeat.

It was part of Jesus’ public celebration of His victory over the demonic realm, that Paul describes in Colossians:

Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:15)

An article in the Belfast Telegraph discussed the miraculous healing of Sharyn Mackay who lived in Newcastle County Down in Northern Ireland along with her husband who pastored several Methodist churches.

In 2004, doctors diagnosed Sharyn with a cancerous tumour on her kidney.

After taking a biopsy, the staff at Craigavon Area Hospital sent a sample to Harvard University because her form of cancer was very rare.

Sharyn told the Telegraph:

“They said it was spindle cell sarcoma which is normally bone cancer. I was one of only 10 known cases where it had become a kidney tumour.”

Though people in the four churches her husband pastored were praying for her, in a YouTube interview with Stuart Chalmers, Sharyn said her trust was in the doctors treating her.

However, that changed when further tests showed the cancer had spread to her lungs. The doctors stopped any further treatment stating chemotherapy and surgery would not help.

The cancer was terminal.

With weeks to live, Sharyn was sent home to die.

With this devastating news, Sharyn realized medicine was not going to heal her.

“At that point, I began to think about does God heal today and more importantly does He want to heal me.”

She and her husband turned to the Bible. They focussed on Isaiah 53 which said that Jesus’ death on the cross, not only brought forgiveness of sin but healing as well:

But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

Sharyn and her husband started believing God for her healing. While some in their churches questioned this, a small group prayed for Sharyn’s healing. If God could heal people in Africa, the Lord could heal someone in Northern Ireland.

In April 2004, Sharyn’s doctor sent her for another scan to determine how long she had to live.

The night before the scan, Sharyn wrote in her journal, “Thank you God for healing me. I know I will get clear results tomorrow.”

When she consulted the doctor after the scan, he was smiling. She was uncertain what to think, because he hadn’t smiled in months.

When Sharyn asked when she was going to die, the doctor said he didn’t know, because the cancer had completely disappeared. He pulled out her x-rays and showed the before and after images.

Sharyn told the Belfast Telegraph:

“Four radiographers studied the scans and none of them could quite believe it. The tumours had gone and I was told to leave the hospital and live a full life. The cancer has never come back and I have never felt better.”

The miracle defied medical science. The doctors tried to explain it by telling the Belfast Telegraph, that Sharyn’s immune system must have spontaneously healed her.

In fact, it was Jesus who healed Sharyn.

Medics baffled as mum’s killer cancer disappears: Belfast Telegraph