September 25, 2001

Dear friends:

Please allow me to share my perspective on this date, September 25, in the year of our Lord, 2001.

I am neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet. What I am about to say is not "thus saith the Lord," but merely my take on where we are today. My take may change tomorrow, but this is how I see it today. It is the privilege of a non-prophet to change his mind!

There seems to be two main streams of "prophecy" coming forth these days. One speaks mainly of coming revival and a church victorious IN this world. The other speaks mainly of the nearness of the return of the Lord and the church’s soon exit FROM this world.

Personally, I believe the latter view is more scriptural and more in tune with the signs of the times, and also more of what I have been sensing in my own spirit for several years. The former view seems to come mainly from claimed revelation and "words from the Lord," while the latter view seems to come more from Scripture, but with occasional supernatural confirmations.

However, it is possible that they are both correct. I believe the rapture will trigger a great revival. In the midst of chaos and destruction, multitudes will come into the kingdom as tribulation saints, many of whom were fence sitters before. They may die as martyrs, but they will have eternal life.

It pains me to say this, because I am as patriotic as the next guy, and more so than most. I have lived through World War 2, Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War. I served my country in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years. My father fought in the infantry in WW2, landing at Normandy. I occasionally get goose bumps and tear up when I hear the national anthem and see the flag. America rises to the challenge. We get it done. Normally, the Osama bin Ladens of the world would soon be vanquished and assigned to the trash heap of history, and we would return to national complacency again.

But not this time, I believe. The main reason I say this is where I perceive us to be on God’s time line of history, and also a world situation that is unprecedented in its danger and threat.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY:

1. Thousands of fanatical, maniacal, highly trained terrorists are committed to suicide attacks in order to destroy us.
   
2. They have weapons of mass destruction, just one of which, if properly placed, could kill millions, bring down our whole economy and cause mass panic.
   
3. We cannot stop their entry into the porous borders of our country. We cannot even stop drug dealers and innocent women and children from crossing over from Mexico.
   
4. Officials admit they cannot even keep track of people who come here with legitimate visas, much less those who come illegitimately. It is out of control. There are known terrorist "cells" that are tracked by the FBI, but that is probably only the tip of the iceberg. It is not just one man, or a few, but hundreds, actually thousands, who can move with stealth back and forth across our borders.
   
5. For the above reasons, massive destruction and death in the U.S. appear inevitable, and near. But it will fit right into Bible prophecy.
   
6. Our strength, power, large military forces, supersonic airplanes, tanks and high-tech weaponry cannot stop it.
   

Three or four years ago, then U.S. Senator Sam Nunn summarized a Senate committee study on terrorism and concluded that it is not a matter of "if" we will get hit with a weapon of mass destruction, but "when." I believe that horrible time is upon us.

Every day that passes without it, is a day of grace from the Lord. But His plan for history will be on schedule. It cannot be delayed indefinitely, and it will not necessarily wait until after the revivals many are prophesying. In fact, the destruction and the rapture will probably be the catalysts for the revivals.

There are many biblical signs that I will not list here. See my Web site at www.oocities.org/bramlett2000. But in my opinion, we are extremely near to both the rapture and the destruction, which may come simultaneous or within minutes, hours or days of one another.

As always, Israel is the key. In 1995 I wrote that Ezekiel 38-39 seems to imply that Israel’s strongest ally, the U.S., will not be a factor in her defense against this prophesied invasion. I suggested that for this to happen, America would be purposely take out beforehand, to clear the way for Israel’s planned destruction. I believe this is the underlying agenda of Osama bin Laden, Iraq, Iran, Syria and others – the secret Muslim master plan for destroying Israel and bringing Islamic dominance in the world. It is a plan conceived in the board room of hell. A coordinated terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction on multiple points in America would disable us. Israel will be left with no one to trust but God -- but He will be sufficient.

What shall we do? It is really pretty simple. If it applies, stop playing religion and being half-hearted about the Lord. Get serious, now, with your Creator. Keep our eyes on Jesus, trust and obey Him, tell others about Him as He gives opportunity, and "pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36). Also, pull out Psalm 91, read and claim its promises for protection.

We have read the back of the book. Jesus wins, and we win.

Jim