China Removes Bible Apps from App Store, Shuts Down Popular Christian Websites

Michael Foust – May 4, 2021

China’s government in recent days continued its clampdown on Christianity within cyberspace by banning various Bible apps and shutting down WeChat Christian public accounts, according to a new report.

International Christian Concern reported May 1 that Christian accounts on WeChat – a Chinese social media platform – are no longer available. When Chinese citizens attempt to access WeChat Christian pages such as “Gospel League” and “Life Quarterly,” they receive a message reading, “[We] received [a] report that [this account] violates the ‘Internet User Public Account Information Services Management Provisions’ and its account has been blocked and suspended.”

Father Francis Liu of the Chinese Christian Fellowship of Righteousness posted screenshots of the blocked pages on his Twitter page, according to International Christian Concern.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has removed Bible apps from the Chinese app store, according to ICC.

“Those who want to download Bible Apps have to use [a] VPN to circumvent the Firewall,” ICC said in its report.

This is not the first time China has targeted Bible apps. In 2019, China’s government removed a 6-year-old Chinese Bible app called WeDevote after it had been downloaded 10 million times, World reported. Popular American Bible apps such as YouVersion are not available in the Chinese app store.

https://www.christianheadlines.com

Biden Becomes 1st President to Omit ‘God’ from National Day of Prayer Proclamation

Michael Foust – May 6, 2021

President Biden on Wednesday issued a National Day of Prayer proclamation that touted the “power of prayer” and invited Americans to “give thanks,” although the proclamation’s absence of the word “God” sparked criticism and marked the first time that’s happened in modern history.

By a 1952 law, every U.S. president must issue a proclamation designating a National Day of Prayer. This year the day fell on May 6.

“Today, we remember and celebrate the role that the healing balm of prayer can play in our lives and in the life of our Nation,” the proclamation reads. “As we continue to confront the crises and challenges of our time – from a deadly pandemic, to the loss of lives and livelihoods in its wake, to a reckoning on racial justice, to the existential threat of climate change – Americans of faith can call upon the power of prayer to provide hope and uplift us for the work ahead.”

On the National Day of Prayer, “we unite with purpose and resolve, and recommit ourselves to the core freedoms that helped define and guide our Nation from its earliest days,” it reads.

“We celebrate our incredible good fortune that, as Americans, we can exercise our convictions freely – no matter our faith or beliefs,” it reads. “Let us find in our prayers, however they are delivered, the determination to overcome adversity, rise above our differences, and come together as one Nation to meet this moment in history.”

The proclamation, though, omits the word “God,” making Biden the first president not to include “God” in his proclamation in the modern history of National Day of Prayer proclamations. The omission is ironic, because secular groups in recent months have criticized Biden for discussing religion too much.

https://www.christianheadlines.com

Dem. governor halts Kansas effort to protect female sports

AP- May 3, 2021

TOPEKA, Kan. (May 3, 2021) — Conservative Republican legislators in Kansas failed Monday to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a proposed ban on transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s school sports.

The Senate’s vote to override Kelly was 26-14, leaving backers of the measure one short of the necessary two-thirds majority and blocking an attempt in the House. The outcome was in doubt until the only Democrat to waver on voting against the override, Sen. David Haley, of Kansas City, cast his no vote.

More than 20 states have considered such proposals this year, as Republican lawmakers have pressed the issue. Idaho enacted such a law last year, and bans were enacted this year in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and West Virginia. Florida lawmakers passed a bill, and South Dakota’s governor issued an executive order.

Kelly called the Kansas measure “regressive,” said it would send a message that Kansas was not a welcoming place and predicted it would hurt the state’s attempts to recruit businesses.

The bill’s supporters said they were trying to protect fair competition in women’s sports and preserve hard-won opportunities for female athletes, such as college scholarships.

https://onenewsnow.com

Al-Qaeda Threatens to Wage War Against US ‘on All Fronts’ in Rare Interview With Mainstream Media

– April 30, 2021

The US holds Al-Qaeda responsible for the deadliest act of terror ever and the killing of nearly 3,000 Americans on 11 September 2001. The terror group’s influence declined significantly after 2014 and the rise of Daesh (ISIS), with fighters pledging allegiance to the competing jihadist entities often battling it out in Syria.

Al-Qaeda will continue its war against the United States after Washington’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, two operatives said to be belong to the terrorist organization have told CNN.

Speaking to the network via an intermediary ahead of the ten-year anniversary of the 2011 SEAL team operation to kill Osama bin Laden, and following Joe Biden’s announcement that he would pull troops out of Afghanistan after nearly two decades of war, the terrorist group said that their “war against the US will be continuing on all other fronts unless they are expelled from the rest of the Islamic world.”

One of the spokesmen praised the Taliban for fighting the US over the past 19+ years, and suggested that “thanks to Afghans for the protection of comrades-in-arms, many such jihadi fronts have been successfully operating in different parts of the Islamic world for a long time.”

Sputnik has been unable to independently verify CNN’s claims that it spoke to the terror group, which almost never gives interviews to mainstream Western media and instead typically issues pronouncements via its own guerrilla networks or taped audio or video releases.

CNN took the operatives’ comments to mean that there are continued ties between al-Qaeda and the Taliban, despite the latter’s commitment under the 2020 US-Taliban peace deal to prevent al-Qaeda and other terrorists from using Afghan soil “to threaten the security of the United States and its allies.”

https://sputniknews.com

Higher Prices at the Grocery Store as Ag Futures Surge the Most in 8 Years

Mish – April 26, 2021

The Bloomberg Agriculture Spot Index surged the most in nearly nine years, driven by a rally in crop futures.

Expect Grocery Shock

With futures surging, Grocery Price Shock Is Coming to a Store Near You.

With global food prices already at the highest since mid-2014, this latest jump is being closely watched because staple crops are a ubiquitous influence on grocery shelves — from bread and pizza dough to meat and even soda.

“The relentless rise in prices acts as a misery multiplier, driving millions deeper into hunger and desperation,” Chris Nikoi, the World Food Programme’s regional director for West Africa, said earlier this month. It’s “pushing a basic meal beyond the reach of millions of poor families who were already struggling to get by.”

And commodities aren’t the only component in driving up the price of food. Higher freight costs and other supply-chain headaches as well as packaging can all add up. Food and beverage giants are already signaling they’re watching margins. Coca-Cola Co. has flagged higher costs in plastic and aluminum, as well as coffee and high-fructose corn syrup, the key ingredient in soda. Nestle SA, the world’s biggest food company, warned it won’t be able to hedge all of its commodity costs and it’s raising prices where appropriate.

https://mishtalk.com

Damages from hailstorms in Texas, Oklahoma estimated to total $3.5B

Brian Lada – April 29, 2021

Major hailstorms pelted three big cities across the south-central United States on Wednesday night, shattering windows, denting vehicles and leaving behind headaches for homeowners. The hail hit such a widespread and populated area that damage estimates are expected to total upwards of $3 billion, according to AccuWeather forecasters.

Communities around Norman, Oklahoma, and San Antonio and Fort Worth, Texas, were hit the hardest by the storms, forcing residents to take shelter inside as the massive hail bombarded the areas.

In Hondo, Texas, located west of San Antonio, hailstones rivaled the size of grapefruits, reaching roughly 4 inches in diameter. In Norman, hail ranged from the size of golf balls to baseballs.

The hail was flying with such ferocity that windows of homes were shattered and, in some cases, caused damage inside.

A window was shattered and a blind severely damaged after hail pelted a home in Norman, Oklahoma. (Twitter/ @marekcornett)

One resident in Haslet, Texas, located near Fort Worth, recorded a video of hail creating waves in the backyard swimming pool while the sound of glass shattering could be heard in the background as chunks of ice knocked out windows.

The aftermath was evident all across the three cities in the wake of the storms, especially at parking lots and car dealerships where vehicles were left out in the elements.

https://www.accuweather.com

Christian Pastor Arrested in London for Quoting ‘Homophobic’ Bible Verses

Kurt Zindulka  – April 29, 2021

Police in London arrested a Christian street preacher for allegedly causing “alarm and distress” to pedestrians for citing allegedly “homophobic” verses from Genesis.

On Friday, Pastor John Sherwood was preaching alongside Pastor Peter Simpson of the Penn Free Methodist Church outside the Uxbridge Underground Station — in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s own constituency.

Writing in the Conservative Woman on Tuesday, Pastor Simpson said that Sherwood preached on the final verses of Genisis 1, saying: “God’s design in creating mankind was to set human beings in families, headed by a father and a mother, not by two fathers or by two mothers. The distinction within mankind of just two genders, male and female, made in the image of God, constitutes the essence of God’s created order.”

Simpson said that the police informed them that three complaints were made in response to the street sermon.

He said that a police officer warned that he and Sherwood should avoid making any “homophobic statements” and that there is “no freedom to make statements which offend people”.

The police ultimately dragged Sherwood off his step stool and forcibly handcuffed the septuagenarian preacher.

“This dignified man of God, who is in his early 70s, was marched off to a nearby police car, as one of the helpers from my church cried out, ‘What has happened to us as a nation that a man can no longer preach from the Bible?” Pastor Simpson related.

https://www.breitbart.com

‘Martian Plague’: Bringing Mars Samples to Earth May Cause a Devastating Pandemic, Scientists Warn

– April 30, 2021

While Perseverance rover is rolling over the Red Planet studying its geology and taking fancy selfies with the help of the Ingenuity helicopter, researchers back on Earth are looking forward to welcome and investigating the first Martian soil samples in the upcoming years.

Bringing rocks from the Marian surface to Earth does not seem very exciting to a small group of enthusiasts from The International Committee Against Mars Sample Return (ICAMSR), who warn about incredible risks these life-bearing samples may pose to our home planet, including an immense “Martian plague”.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) are working together on The Mars Sample Return Campaign in an effort to bring precious rocks and soil to Earth for detailed tests. They plan to launch a lander in 2026 to pick up samples collected by the Perseverance rover which landed on the Red planet in February. So the Martian soils – including some micro-organisms which potentially inhabit them – may end up on our planet in the next decade.

According to NASA, “returning pristine samples of Mars to Earth has been a goal for generations of planetary scientists.”

Dr. Gilbert Levin is not very enthusiastic about this. The engineer, who was the one investigating NASA’s Viking programme, which ran from 1975 to 1983, told the Daily Star that there is a “real chance” the Red Planet is inhabited by life forms that would leak to Earth, potentially causing a new, devastating pandemic from which we have no defense.

“I fear that, even if a safe Mars Sample Return container could be made and brought to Earth, there is a good probability that some of the sample would escape from the ‘secure’ lab where the container would be opened,” Levin says.

Scientists from ICAMSR express a similar caution, citing legendary astronomer Carl Sagan, who warned about the consequences of the sample-bringing in his 1973 book:

“Precisely because Mars is an environment of great potential biological interest, it is possible that on Mars there are pathogens, organisms which, if transported to the terrestrial environment, might do enormous biological damage…a Martian plague.”

https://sputniknews.com

2 governors sign ‘heartbeat’ bills to protect unborn

– April 27, 2021

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, the governors of two states — Oklahoma and Idaho, respectively — signed ‘heartbeat bills’ into law. These laws protect preborn children from the moment a heartbeat can be detected, which is usually around five to six weeks gestation. Though the preborn child’s brain is the first organ to appear, the child’s heart begins to beat between 16 and 22 days after the moment of fertilization (when a new human life begins).

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed not just one, but three pro-life bills into law on Monday. HB 2441 is the ‘heartbeat bill’ which bans an abortion from the moment the embryonic heartbeat is detected, and does not offer an exception for the circumstances of a child’s conception (rape or incest). The two other new laws are HB 1102 — which classifies abortion as “unprofessional conduct” and any abortionist committing a medically unnecessary abortion will lose his or her license to practice for one year — and HB 1904, which requires that only board-certified OB/GYNs may commit abortions. One bill passed by the Legislature, SB 778, which would require the abortion pill to be dispensed only in person (according to longstanding FDA safety measures), still awaits the governor’s signature.

The bills would have gone into effect in November 2021, with or without the governor’s signature.

In Idaho, Governor Brad Little signed HB 366, the Fetal Heartbeat Preborn Child Protection Act, into law on Tuesday. According to a tweet sent out by the governor’s office, the bill contains exceptions for medical emergencies and for children conceived in rape or incest.

https://www.liveaction.org

Some see coming ‘Super Blood Moon’ followed by a ‘Ring of Fire’ as sign of the End Times

Ricky Scaparo – April 26, 2021

(OPINION) ETH – A new lunar eclipse or “blood moon” will soon be visible on May 26, 2021, and be partially visible from eastern Asia, Australia, the Pacific Ocean, and much of the Americas.This particular event is being called a “Super Blood Moon” and will be the first total eclipse since January 2019.  According to Forbes.com, this “supermoon” full Moon will move into Earth’s dark central umbral shadow where it will appear as a “Blood Moon” for 15 minutes, briefly turning the lunar surface a reddish-copper color.

According to CBN News, less than a month following this Super Blood Moon, the world will then see a ‘Ring Of Fire’ solar eclipse that will be seen on June 10, 2021. This event will be seen by most of the northeastern U.S. and Canada who will see a huge partial solar eclipse before breakfast on June 10th, and some areas will even see an impressive “ring of fire” annular solar eclipse that will last 3 minutes and 33 seconds.

This ring of fire will only be visible in areas like northern Ontario, Canada, and Russia. Many in the Body of Christ see such events having significance and believe they hold prophetic implications because they’re are directly mentioned in scripture.

One example is a Blood Moon mentioned in the Bible in the book of Joel 2:31 which states: “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.” Also in Acts 2:20, “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come.”

And, in the book of Revelations 6:12, a blood moon also is prophesied: “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.” These passages refer to the moon turning to blood as a heavenly sign of the time of the end.

Some End Time preachers claim the numerous Blood Moon eclipses in recent years are one of many signs that the end of the world is drawing closer and could happen in the near future. Those who teach eschatology point to other historic events like the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948, the return of millions of Jews to the Holy Land, and potential precursors to the biblical mark of the beast as further signs of the End Times.

https://endtimeheadlines.org