(5) America Divided, Split or Cut while Authoritarianism is Growing. A majority ‘7’ of Americans think US democracy is broken.

Published 6:26 AM EDT, Fri October 14, 2022

CNN — 

Though Americans don’t agree on many political issues, there is one issue both Democrats and Republicans acknowledge poses a major problem: the state of American democracy. According to a recent Quinnipiac University poll, 69% of Democrats and 69% of Republicans think the nation’s democracy is on the brink of collapse. And the figure for independents, 66%, isn’t much better.

This fear, if actualized, would have ripple effects around the world, given that so many nations look to the United States to be a global leader in democratic efforts. But it also has very real implications for our country’s immediate domestic politics and policy – as evidenced by the recent attacks against election officials across the country.

The threats after the 2020 presidential election were so serious, writes Philadelphia City Commissioner Lisa Deeley, that “I had two plain-clothes Philadelphia police officers assigned to follow me wherever I went – including the bathroom.”

Bill Bishop: This 1950s psychology study holds the answer

Social psychologist Muzafer Sherif brought two highly similar groups of 11- to 12-year-old boys to Oklahoma’s Robbers Cave State Park in 1954. His intention was to study how hostilities arise between groups.

The boys arrived on separate buses and camped in different areas. One group decided to call themselves the Eagles; the other, the Rattlers. When the groups met, they fell into conflict. First, there was verbal sparring and then physical confrontation.

Sherif changed the terms of the experiment. He didn’t bring the boys around a campfire to express their feelings – polite chatter wasn’t the answer. Sherif gave both groups a problem to solve. He had jammed the camp’s water supply. If the boys wanted water, they would have to work together to fix the jam.

The boys collaborated on several problems. The hostilities dampened, and they stopped calling each other names. Several even asked if they could ride home together on the same bus.

Since the mid-1970s, Americans have been self-segregating. We live in neighborhoods, go to churches, read news and join clubs that are increasingly politically homogenous. We even date and marry within our chosen party. We are Rattlers and Eagles – and the consequences in 2022 are the same as in 1954.

What can we do? Mandatory national service. For a year or two, we would join others – a tossed salad of class, race, religion, party and way of life – to work on a problem facing the country. Not talk – do.

It could be through military service or a new version of the Appalachian Volunteers, the Peace Corps or Civilian Conservation Corps. But everyone at some point – Rattlers and Eagles – would have to work together to make the United States a better place.

Studies of World War II support the notion that working together reduces tensions between groups that might otherwise be hostile toward one another. White troops who fought alongside Black soldiers held less racial animus post-war. The same was true with White merchant marines who served with Black sailors.

So let’s carry that lesson into the present day. And when our time of service is up, we just might choose to ride the same bus home together.

Bill Bishop is author of “The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart.”

Fatima Goss Groves: Build a representative judicial bench

Democracy is broken because our trust is broken.

From overturning access to reproductive rights to upholding state laws that suppress the right to vote, federal courts – in particular, the Supreme Court – keep making decisions that most Americans simply do not support.

It’s only natural that this would erode trust. But it’s not just that some of these decisions call the rule of law into question – it’s that it appears our judiciary isn’t really listening to how the law is lived for each and every one of us.

And that contrast is made all the more stark when the courts are compared to the communities directly impacted by their decisions. The majority of federaI judges are White and male.They’re making decisions for communities they have often never been a part of – and that can have huge and irreparable implications, particularly for women and people of color.

We are in a pivotal moment.This session, the Supreme Court is hearing cases on affirmative action, voting rights and LGBTQ+ discrimination. We need a diverse judiciary – across all levels of the federal government – that gives the public confidence that the judges who hold our fates in their hands are seeking to fully understand the parties before them and are intent on reaching more fair-minded and informed decisions.

President Joe Biden feels this urgency and remains committed to judicial diversity. His appointment of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, was a monumental milestone. And, as reported this July, 68% of Biden’s judicial nominees confirmed by the Senate are Black, Hispanic or Asian American.

This fall, we’re calling on the Senate to confirm all of Biden’s nominees – not just for the sake of the courts, but for the urgent and long overdue sake of restoring the public’s trust.

Fatima Goss Graves is the president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center.

Joe Plenzler: Enlist veterans as election workers

Despite polling that indicates Americans think democracy is on the brink of collapse, we all have a choice. We can either cower before the challenge, or we can act to support, defend and strengthen our experiment in democracy.

After spending two decades serving as a US Marine, I’ve chosen the latter approach. I now belong to We the Veterans, a nonpartisan pro-democracy group committed to building a more perfect union. We believe that positive civic engagement is an antidote to political tribalism and extremism – and that veterans can be a part of the solution.

More specifically, veterans can fill the poll worker deficit currently facing our country. Democracy runs on elections, and elections run on volunteers. If a community does not recruit enough volunteers, it will have fewer polling stations, longer lines and potentially disenfranchised voters.

The pandemic and threats of political violence have severely diminished volunteerism within the traditional cohort of election poll workers, many of whom are 61 years of age and older. According to one estimate, the US requires more than 1.1 million volunteer poll workers to administer elections, and experts now project a shortage of about 130,000 going into November.

To meet this challenge, We the Veterans has launched its first nationwide public awareness campaign called Vet the Vote to recruit 100,000 veterans and family members to become poll workers in their communities. To date, we have recruited more than 60,000 poll workers.

The military – including its veterans – is one of the most trusted institutions in our society, and it is our hope that when Americans see their veterans conspicuously serving in their polling stations, it will increase their faith in their electoral system and its outcomes. Additionally, veterans are trained to deescalate moments of tension and may be best suited to address any potential threats at the polls.

Joe Plenzler is a 20-year veteran of the US Marine Corps who served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.He is an entrepreneur and an election judge in Maryland. Plenzler is also on the board of We the Veterans and co-creator of Vet the Vote, a nationwide campaign to recruit 100,000 veterans and their family members to be poll workers.

Katherine Mangu-Ward: Stop treating politics like a pinata

If you lower a pinata packed with treats into a chaotic children’s birthday party, not only will you see some of the most astonishingly rapacious behavior imaginable, someone will almost certainly end up bleeding.

Every election, we essentially simulate those conditions in our democracy.

To retain whatever faith Americans have in our system of governance, we must arrest and reverse the dangerous tendency to turn everything into fodder for national political point-scoring. That means we must deregulate and devolve power to allow individuals to make their own choices about their love lives, their children’s education, the substances they put in their bodies, how they run their businesses – and many other topics about which Americans have widely varying and deeply held opinions.

As politics seeps into every single part of life, the stakes of our elections become untenably high. We must unstuff the pinata by reducing the size and scope of the government.

That means eliminating giveaways to corporations and other favored groups, as well as strengthening protections for economic and civil liberties in order to dramatically expand the sphere of privacy. With less power over others at stake, the temptation to cheat (or accuse the other side of cheating) is reduced.

This task isn’t easy, but it makes all subsequent policymaking much easier. I disagree with 69% of both Republicans and Democrats – nothing unusual there since I am a libertarian – and don’t think our democracy is on the brink of collapse. But I do think we are asking too much of our politicians and our political system, and that we shouldn’t be surprised when they act like spoiled children.

Katherine Mangu-Ward is editor in chief of Reason magazine and co-host of The Reason Roundtable podcast.

Larry Diamond: Eliminate the party primary

Today, our congressional (and state) representatives are nominated in low-turnout party primaries, in which the most highly motivated, partisan voters predominate. Increasingly, the nominees that emerge from that process – particularly in Republican primaries – are the most uncompromising.

Then, in November, elections are a “first past the post” contest only between the Republican and Democratic nominees, because a vote for a third-party or independent candidate is seen as wasted. This system stifles political choice and innovation – and leaves voters unsatisfied.

There is an alternative: ranked choice voting (RCV) with open primaries. Step one is a non-partisan “blanket” primary that advances the top four or five finishers to the November election. Pragmatic representatives couldn’t be knocked out at this stage because they would win enough votes from party moderates and independent voters to finish among the top four or five.

In the general election, RCV also would be used to choose the winner. Voters would rank their choices among the final five, and the winning candidate would need an absolute majority of votes. If no candidatewon a majority of first-preference votes, the weakest finisher would be eliminated – and their preferences would be transferred to their second choices. This would continue until a candidate won a majority.

In this way, voters would be freed to vote for moderates and independents without fearing that they would be electing the candidate they most dislike. And pragmatism and flexibility would be encouraged because the process would tend to choose the most broadly appealing candidate.

Some states are already moving in this direction. As a result of a 2020 voter initiative, Alaska is using the “top four” RCV system this year for its executive, legislative and US House and Senate elections, and Nevada is voting this November on an initiative to adopt “top five” RCV voting for its future elections.

Larry Diamond is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) and a Bass University Fellow in Undergraduate Education at Stanford University.

Debra Cleaver: Make voting as easy as possible

The ability to vote is the most crucial component of a functioning democracy. Yet voting rights are under constant attack – more than 440 restrictive bills were introduced during the 2021 legislative session alone – and the integrity of election results are being called into question by some of the very people we elected into public office.

In order to ensure that US democracy doesn’t just survive, but thrives, we need first to rebuild trust in the electoral process itself to increase voter turnout. We can easily remove many of the existing barriers which have been built to impede one’s ability to vote by implementing modern, proven, common sense solutions.

For example, Arizona first pioneered online voter registration in 2002. Yet 20 years later, states such as Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas still refuse to offer this service. Online registration not only increases voter participation among under-represented minority communities but also lowers administrative costs for state and local governments.

Enforcing arbitrary registration deadlines weeks before an election only serves to compound the voter registration problem. These deadlines could be eliminated entirely if all states adopted same-day registration (or Election Day registration). Especially in states with strict voter ID requirements, such as Indiana, it’s a straightforward process to implement – and one which could enfranchise exponentially more voters than are disenfranchised by these ID laws. It’s also been shown to radically increase voter turnout and overall confidence in election results.

These simple and practical solutions must be made available to all eligible voters nationwide – both to increase voter participation and to rebuild their trust in our democracy.

Debra Cleaver is the founder and CEO of VoteAmerica, a nonprofit which builds technology to simplify political engagement, increase voter turnout and strengthen American democracy.

Ken Burns: Remind Americans of history’s greatest lesson

Like many historians, I am an optimist. And American history provides a good baseline to assess the country’s potential. Given that the US has weathered three great crises – the Civil War, the Great Depression and World War II – there is reason to believe America can survive its latest crisis.

But this crisis – a loss of faith in American democracy – reflects a deep-seated anxiety about the very institutions this nation was founded on. In recent years, elements of democracy we took for granted, such as free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power, have been called into question.

That said, this isn’t the Weimar Republic in 1929, and there is still hope for American democracy. It begins by acknowledging that freedom has a cost, and it requires constant vigilance. In an era in which we are distracted by transactional opportunities – and not transformative ones – we lose sight of that fact.

We must ask ourselves where we wish to live. Think of the film “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The larger question of that film is whether we want to live in Bedford Falls, a largely welcoming and friendly town, or Potterville, a dark and hateful place. Most Americans would likely choose the former.

The only way we get to Bedford Falls is not through argument, but through story, conversation and connection. The novelist Richard Powers says, “The best arguments in the world won’t change a person’s mind. The only thing that can do that is a good story.”

I’m in the business of trying to tell good stories. And my hope is that with each film I make, I move viewers. While I cannot control how they interpret the film, if I succeed, and the story lands some place inside of them, there is the potential for transformation.

Though every story is different, the one commonality among them is really American resilience – how in the face of adversity, much internally-borne, America managed to survive and thrive. And it certainly can again.

To paraphrase historian Deborah Lipstadt who appears in my latest project, “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” the time to save a democracy is before it is lost – and that requires people paying attention, filtering sources of news and beginning a politics of compromise built on conversation and storytelling now.

Ken Burns is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who has been making films for PBS for more than40 years. He recently released “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” a three-part, six hour series that examines America’s response to the Holocaust.

Mark Schmitt: It’s time for multi-party democracy

To break the deadly cycle of hyper-partisan polarization that threatens American democracy, we should have a system that creates and supports more viable political parties, simply by allowing parties to cross-endorse candidates.

Notice that I didn’t say that we need a new party. In the current system of winner-take-all elections and single-member congressional districts, just creating a party isn’t enough. A third party’s candidates will often be spoilers, in many cases benefiting the party its voters like least. Instead, we need a system that encourages the formation of one, three or many new and lasting parties that can better represent the complex views of all voters at the local, state and national levels.

With more than two political parties, some might represent factions of existing parties, such as non-MAGA Republicans or political moderates, while others might try to put particular issues on the agenda, such as universal basic income or marijuana legalization. They would bargain and form coalitions where they agreed – and differ where they didn’t – creating some of the dynamics of a parliamentary democracy.

There’s just one modest step that could help us move toward that ideal of multi-party democracy: States should allow parties to nominate anyone who is eligible for the office, even if they have already been nominated by another party. This practice, known as “electoral fusion,” would let new parties emerge that might sometimes cross-endorse candidates from one of the major parties, if they agreed with them, sometimes run their own candidates or sometimes stay out of a race altogether.

They wouldn’t be spoilers unless they chose to be. Using fusion, new parties could influence the two major parties, even if they weren’t yet big enough to win elections on their own. In states with a tradition of fusion, such as New York and Connecticut, the Working Families Party exercises such a role – and other parties have done so in the recent past.

All but eight states enacted laws to prohibit parties from cross-endorsing candidates – mostly around the turn of the 20th century. Letting parties nominate whomever they want, including a candidate from another party, is just a partial step toward the fluid multi-party democracy we’ve had in the past. But it would restore some of the bargaining and compromise that we’ve been missing for the last several decades.

Mark Schmitt is the director of the Political Reform Program at New America, a nonpartisan policy research organization.

Cecile Scoon: Each state needs a citizens’ initiative process

Threats to democracy are often examined through a national lens. However, a state approach can help strengthen democracy. For the past 50 years, pursuant to Florida’s state constitution, citizens have had a right to propose constitutional amendments for all Floridians to vote on. This process is called the “citizens’ initiative” process.

Through this process, Floridians have proposed whether to expand enfranchisement by restoring voting rights to persons who complete felony sentences, protect natural resources and ensure fairness in our political districts. These amendments, which all passed, have helped improve the lives of everyday Floridians and protect core facets of our democracy.

Unfortunately, our state legislature continues to attempt to chip away at our precious citizens’ initiative process by proposing legislationthat ultimately seeks an all-out elimination of our ability to propose meaningful constitutional amendments or willfully ignores laws already adopted by voters.

An instance of this can be easily exemplified. In 2010, more than 60% of Floridians voted for a pair of “fair districts” amendments. These amendments require our legislature to draw nonpartisan redistricting lines and protect minority voting power by prohibiting the diminishment of voting strength for racial or language minorities.

In 2012, the state legislature blatantly ignored these requirements and passed partisan, gerrymandered maps. After the League of Women Voters of Florida and others sued and won, the Florida Supreme Court upheld these amendments in 2015 and fair maps were enacted.

In 2022, the Florida legislature has again gutted the same fair districts amendments. Legislators have enacted a map drawn by our governor that cuts minority voting power in half and gives a stark advantage to one political party. The League and others have sued the legislature once more for violating the will of the people. This case is ongoing.

It is time Florida’s legislators stop ignoring successful citizens’ initiatives and stop attempting to pass laws that further limit the process. Other states without any sort of similar process should consider creating their own to allow the direct voices of the people to be heard.

Cecile M. Scoon, a lawyer, is the president of the League of Women Voters of Florida.

Yuval Levin: Make Congress actually… work

There is no silver bullet for the problems confronting our democracy, but it is crucial to begin by recognizing that the political arena is intended to be a venue for disagreement and contention. Our political systemnow feels dysfunctional – not because we have forgotten how to agree with each other but because we have forgotten how to disagree constructively. Our two major parties spend too much time talking about each other and not enough time talking to each other.

At the national level, only Congress can change this. Congress is designed as an arena for productive disagreement, where members who represent the diversity of the American polity can make accommodations and come to agreements on behalf of their disparate constituents. When it works properly, Congress builds common ground in American life.

It would be an understatement to say that Congress does not do this today. And it is hard to see any way we could improve the health of our democracy without helping Congress function better. That could mean creating incentives for people more inclined towardlegislative bargaining to run for Congress – for instance by experimenting with electoral reforms like ranked-choice voting. And it could mean reforming the work of the institution to make traditional legislative negotiation more appealing to the ambitious men and women who run for Congress – for instance by re-empowering the committees.

More specifically, committees in both chambers could be given some direct control of floor time, as happens in some state legislatures, so that the work the committees do wouldn’t feel like a dead end. Or Congress could eliminate the boundary between authorizing bills (which create programs) and appropriating bills (which spend money) so that all members, and not just the few who are appropriators, could be involved in meaningful legislating with real-world consequences.

There is no shortage of ideas about how to move power from party leaders to rank-and-file legislators, but there has long been a shortage of will. Yes, electoral and congressional reform isn’t exciting work, but it’s essential for the future of our democracy. And we should want our politics to be a little less exciting anyway.

Yuval Levin is the director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, where he also holds the Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Public Policy.

Michaela Terenzani: Model the change you wish to see in the world

When the Soviet Union collapsed some 30 years ago, people in Slovakia – my home country – looked to the American model of democracy as they built a new country founded on the principles of rule of law, human rights and civil liberties. The United States even aided those efforts, providing grants, training and exchange programs to guide our democratic efforts.

Of course, Slovakia is far from perfect. It has made mistakes along the way – including in its use of police violence against the Roma minority, which a 2014 State Department report said was a hindrance to its democratic development. But the US has also lost the high ground on this issue, particularly in the wake of George Floyd’s death and other incidents of violence by the police against American minority populations.

Simply put, how can we, Slovaks, accept advice or criticism from Americans, when they seem to be struggling with the same problems – and yet have a democracy that is over 200 years older than ours?

If the US wants to regain trust abroad – and to continue to inspire young democracies to believe in its form of governance – it needs to lead by example. In the case of police violence, there may not be a simple solution, but the US can put forward solutions.

President Joe Biden has taken positive first steps by signing an executive order advancing accountability in the police force and criminal justice system. Congress should follow with a more comprehensive bill that includes specific training, instruction and incentives for law enforcement facing this issue.

Americans may not realize how much those of us beyond their borders look to the US to lead the democratic world. But it’s a truth worth reminding my American friends.Your country can be imperfect, but it should be at the forefront of putting forward ideas that address those imperfections – and guiding young countries like mine toward becoming more inclusive nations.

Michaela Terenzani is the editor in chief of The Slovak Spectator, Slovakia’s English-language newspaper.

Revelation 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and POWER was ‘GIVEN’ him (Prince, Beast, Antichrist) over ALL kindreds, and tongues, and NATIONS. (‘5’ ALL NATIONS OF THE EARTH, INCLUDING THE ‘UNTIED’ STATES).

America (5) Divided, Split, Cut, or Fractured and Separated into FIVE ‘5’ Pieces:

Zechariah 12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

Matthew 12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

Mark 3:24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

Mark 3:25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

Luke 11:17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.

Luke 12:53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

The US Government has become politically divided and is in discord and disunity. The political division affecting and splitting America is a direct result of its efforts to ‘divide Jerusalem’ via the ‘Deal of the Century’ or the regional covenant of peace and security in the Middle East. Throughout scripture, God has made it abundantly clear that Jerusalem is the ‘apple of his eye’ and has his stamp of ownership on it … above all other cities on earth. God makes it adequately clear in Zechariah 12:3 that any nation that attempts to cut or divide up Jerusalem, will themselves be cut up or divided. As such, the US is cut or divided politically because of its leadership role in attempting to split God’s Holy City of earthly Jerusalem. Plain and simple.

OK. So it’s clear about the accelerating implosion of political unity in the US. Political discord will get worse and become angrier, antagonistic, confrontational, and hateful with little to no compromise, concession, agreement or unity. Contempt and distrust rules the day. Some would say this is already the case not only between Democrats and Republicans, but also within each party. Whether you believe the US being extremely divided is a result of God’s wrath for its role in dividing Jerusalem or not, it doesn’t matter. The fact remains that the US is becoming bitterly more and more divided. This division has also taken place in culture (LGBTQP+ social inclusiveness agenda), economics (income inequality), etc. The list can go on. America is divided on so many levels, not just politically.

Why is there no mention of the ‘United’ States in Bible Prophecy?

Prophetic Discernment: Seven (7) year ‘book-end’ solar eclipses, August 2017 to April 2024. God’s divine completion to His plan or purpose for the once powerful and great ‘United’ States. Seven (7) spirits affected; Financially, Politically, Militarily, Geographically, Geo-Politically, Spiritually and Socially. 2024 will likely be when the Beast assumes authority over all the nations of the earth, INCLUDING the ‘Untied’ States. 2025 marks the ‘start’ of the final 3.5 years of the tribulation where God PERSONALLY and supernaturally protects Israel in Petra. No further need of the United States to be Israel’s ‘Big Brother’ watching over her and protecting her and giving her financial aid. By the start of 2024, the once ‘United’ States will have descended into anarchy, chaos, rebellion, the bottomless pit, despair, insolvency and strife. And irrelevancy, divide, confusion, bitterness, family against family and against its self, discord and despondency. For 70 (7) years, the United States was Israel’s ‘worldly’ protector and benefactor (1948-2018). The American ‘millennium or empire’ lasted from 1620 to 2020. 400 years. America has been wandering ‘in the desert’ for 400 years and time has expired. 40(0) is a time or period of ‘trial or testing.’

Watchman Mr. Greg Laurie ‘All the More Urgent’ Monday, January 18, 2021

“This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11 NLT).

I think we could make a very good case for finding Russia in Bible prophecy. I think we could make a pretty good case for finding China in Bible prophecy. And we certainly could make an airtight case for finding Iran in Bible prophecy—and Israel as well. But we cannot find the United States of America.

How is it that the reigning superpower on the planet today doesn’t seem to be mentioned?

No one knows the answer, but let’s consider an option. What if the Rapture were to take America out of its lead role?

There are approximately 328.2 million people in the United States. For the sake of illustration, I’ll round that number to 300 million. I don’t know how many are followers of Christ, but I read recently that 65 percent of Americans identify as Christians.

To be very conservative, let’s say that 10 percent of the people in the United States of America are Christians. Now, imagine for a moment what would happen if 30 million people (or more) suddenly were to leave Planet Earth in the Rapture—people who work in industries, government, the military, and every area imaginable.

Do you think that would affect our nation?

Of course it would. Effectively, America would collapse overnight.

I don’t know the reason our nation isn’t mentioned in Bible prophecy, but I do know this: Jesus Christ is returning. The Bible says, “This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11 NLT).

If you’re a believer who’s living a compromised life, you need to repent and get right with God. And if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ, then you’ve got to wake up and get right with God. Wake up. Jesus is coming. Are you ready?

The White Horseman On An Arabian Stallion (Prince, Beast, Antichrist, One World CAESAR).

Revelation 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and POWER was ‘GIVEN’ him (Prince, Beast, Antichrist) over ALL kindreds, and tongues, and NATIONS.

Revelation 6:2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

Commentary; the rider is the ‘beast’ or ‘antichrist’. His being clothed in white suggests ‘3’ false righteousness, false peace and false authority. He has a bow, but no arrows. He rules with lies and threats, but no military or arms. He conquers and subjugates, not with force but with ‘5’ lies, deception, false covenants and false agreements and false promises. He is the world’s greatest ‘political’ leader and deceiver. He is the one who ‘confirms the false covenant of seven years with Jacob’ which starts the tribulation. You should know now of who I speak. His ‘crown’ represents authority, rulership and position. It even literally represents his ‘position’ as Crown Prince, once the tribulation begins. My discernment is that the ‘white horse upon which he sits’ is symbolically a white Arabian stallion.

23 “ And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.” (Daniel 8:23-25)

The One World Government Leader Has Power OVER ALL THE NATIONS of the EARTH.

WHO is the Abraham Accords ‘Confirmer,’ the BEAST, the Eighth (8^th) King, the ‘ONE-WORLD GOVERNMENT LEADER’, the FIRST RIDER OF THE APOCALYPSE who goes to Perdition (Utter Destruction), The LAST CAESAR, PHARAOH or ANTICHRIST?

Revelation 13:2-4

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon [Satan, Allah, Prince of the Power of the Air] which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast [Antichrist, Man-by-Satan ‘MbS’], saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? (Emphasis mine. Discernment mine.)

Five (5) references to ‘beast.’ 5 denotes satanic influence over evil men.

Jesus Identified the Sign of the Antichrist: He is NOT Macron, Biden, Obama, Trump, Putin, Jinping, Gates, Pope Francis or Klaus Schwab. The ‘Beast’ has been identified NOW, and his role changes to the Antichrist 3.5 years into the Tribulation.

Revelation 17:8-11 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

‘Seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.’ = NEOM Babylon sits on the seven (7) tallest mountains in the Midian Mountain range in the Tabuk region of Saudi Arabia. Tallest mountain is Mount Sinai. These mountains are scarlet and purple colored due to volcanic origin and related minerals deposited in rock. NEOM is a $500 (5) billion technological/hedonistic paradise. No mention or acceptance of Christ.

The seven and eight kings are in reference to the genetic lineage (bottomless pit of evil) of the House of Saud. These are ALL the modern kings since the foundation of modern Saudi Arabia.

Proof of the ‘line of’ of the 8 kings.

Kings of Saudi Arabia (1932–present)

 1.        King Ibn Saud. 9/22/1932 – 11/9/1953. Kingdom founded by conquest. Had six (6) sons that became Kings of the Kingdom. Six (6) is the number of evil man/men. The ground work for this kingdom was being created at the same time as the ground work for the State of Israel. Satan started establishing his ‘chosen people’ (those who worship the dragon and beast) at the same time God was re-establishing his ‘chosen people’ (the Jews) over the 1930’s to late 1940’s. 1 of the 5 ‘fallen/dead’ kings.

2.         King Saud. 11/9/1953 – 11/2/1964. 2 of the 5 ‘fallen/dead’ kings.

3.         King Faisal. 11/2/1964 – 3/25/1975. 3 of the 5 ‘fallen/dead’ kings.

4.         King Khalid. 3/25/1975 – 6/13/1982. 4 of the 5 ‘fallen/dead’ kings.

5.         King Fahd. 6/13/1982 – 8/1/2005. 5 of the 5 ‘fallen/dead’ kings.

6.         King Abdullah. 8/1/2005 – 1/23/2015. The king ‘that is.’ This is the 6th king revealed by the Holy Spirit to John the Apostle. He is the signpost for the ‘season of the times’ of the latter days, prior to the tribulation. A sign for the evil Gentile nations.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30945324

7.         King Salman. (King 2015 – ?). 1/23/2015- (2022) This is the 7th and ‘future’ king revealed to John the Apostle who will reign for a ‘short time or while’. If his reign lasts for 7 years, from 2015 on into 2022, it will truly reflect a short reign and denotes God’s divine completion to his plan or purpose for the seven kings, including the seventh king. King Salman is the LAST of the six (6) sons of Ibn Saud to be King of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Is The De Facto King Amid Concerns Over Father’s Health

8.         Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. He is the 8th and final ‘future’ king revealed to John the Apostle. He is the ‘beast’, comes from seven (7) kings/lineage before him and goes to perdition. His reign is over the seven (7) years of the tribulation. Born 1985, he will be 35 (7×5) years old in 2020. Seven (7) denotes God’s divine completion to His plan or purpose. Five (5) denotes Satanic influence of men and kings. God’s influence over men in greater than Satan’s influence over men 7>5. Notice that MBS will be the FIRST king who is NOT a direct son of founding King Ibn Saud in 1932. Becoming the 8th king, MBS represents a ‘new epoch’ a ‘new future’ for the kingdom that forms an ideological break from the past. Eight (8) denotes a new beginning, new timeline, new season, new plan. God is addressing the evil status quo of the House of Saud (bottomless pit of evil, wealth, influence, power, corruption) and ushering in the time of great wrath, the tribulation for Gentile nations. From a spiritual perspective, MBS not being one of the six (6) sons of the founding King Ibn Saud, now holds claim to being the son of perdition under the power and influence of the dragon (Satan). MBS has no allegiance to his family tree, tradition, other family princes and historical political protocol. Only an extremely evil, pathological soul manipulated by Satan would turn on his own family. In Satan’s plan, he used the ‘bottomless pit’ of evil House of Saud to raise MBS, the beast, the son of perdition to be in the positions he both currently and in future, will hold. Just as Jesus Christ had an earthly family tree and lineage, Satan used the House of Saud as the earthly family tree, lineage for his son of perdition, the beast, the coming Antichrist.

At the time John the Apostle was in the Holy Spirit and given a ‘vision’ of the future, 5 of the Saudi Kings were already dead (fallen). He was shown the sixth king, and told that a future 7th and 8th king were coming. The sixth king was a ‘sign post’ of the beginning of the ‘end times’ prior to the tribulation. The 7th King ‘short while’ in current King Salman, the last son of founder Saud. Mbs, Mohammed bin Salman is ‘Crown Prince’ and will become the 8th king (goes into perdition). MbS is the ‘Beast’ who rules during the seven (7) year tribulation and great tribulation (last 3.5 year period.) MbS (Beast now), becomes the Antichrist midway during the 7 year tribulation, at the occurrence known as the ‘Abomination of Desolation.’

King Salman brought his son, MBS into the kingdom’s political arena in 2015. 2015-2020 is also a 5 year period of Satanic influence on MBS, as he has grown in power and worldwide influence and stature among not only Western countries, but among ‘Kings of the East’, and those who worship the dragon and the beast throughout Middle East / North African countries (MENA – the ‘many’ Arabic and Islamic countries).

Mohammed bin Salman (named Crown Prince, June 2017). He is referred to scripturally as both a Prince and as a King. This is extremely unique and mentioned for a very real reason. He plays a prophetic role as Prince (when he confirms the false peace covenant among many nations throughout MENA regarding Israel and the Palestinians). Please consider that many, if not all, MENA countries are either Arabic and/or Muslim and are financially and politically beholden to Saudi Arabia in one form or another. Religiously, all these countries are beholden to the House of Saud, because it is the ‘custodian’ of Islam’s ‘holiest’ sites in Saudi Arabia. All Muslims must come for Hajj in Saudi Arabia at some point in their life, if capable (those who worship the dragon and the beast). Satanic influence is woven together and throughout ALL of these counties. They will agree to MBS’ confirmation of the covenant, as Crown Prince. They dare not come against the Crown Prince’s wish and confirmation. Thus, they will abide by his confirmation. They have every reason to accept his confirmation, because of their political, financial and religious vested interests with Saudi Arabia. ‘Who can make war or come against the Beast?’

MBS also plays a prophetic role as Saudi Arabia’s 8th King. This will likely occur before he enters the rebuilt Jewish 3rd Temple and causes the Abomination of Desolation (claims to be god and demands to be worshiped as such). Poor man wants to be rich, rich man wants to be prince, prince wants to be king, king wants to be god and rule everything. As such, MBS will likely be the Saudi’s 8th King once he sets foot in the rebuilt Jewish temple half way through the tribulation. After all, he is already the focus of ‘those who worship the dragon and the beast.’ He now wants the Jews to worship him along with the rest of the world (via the destruction of his previous accommodation and approval of the worshipping of the false mystery religions.) It’s not enough that Satan has deceived almost 2 billion Muslims. He now wants to be worshipped by the rest of the earth by Hindus, Buddhists, et.al.  Satan destroys the false ‘mystery religion’ being propagated by the False Prophet, so he can be the only focus of mankind’s worship. These false religions served their satanic purpose by deceiving men and leading men away from Christ, now is time to throw these other false religions into the fire so men are forced to worship Satan, through MBS exclusively.

Hence, MBS’ role will have changed from beast/prince to king to Antichrist at this point. He is indwelt by Satan in order for Satan to satisfy his claim that he will rise to be like the true God and to be worshipped as such. As a spiritual entity, Satan can only possess and indwell a flesh and blood human man. Satan has done everything in his power to raise MBS up through the evil bottomless pit of the House of Saud, to become a Crown Prince, to become a King, and now that Satan has possessed him to become the world-wide Antichrist. At this point, MBS is completely under Satan’s authority and power and ensues to blaspheme God and Jesus Christ.

The timing of when MBS became Crown Prince is known (June 2017). When he becomes king is when his father succumbs the throne to MBS (this could be through death or a short political reign for one reason or another – health?). The actual timing is unimportant, all we are told is that the 7th king’s reign is for a ‘short time or while.’ His term could be 5, 6, 7 or 8 years.

Where else is there a family/political dynasty on earth that has had seven (7) consecutive kings that rule a country from the same genetic line? In the Middle East? During the time of Israel’s rebirth from a valley of dry bones to a budding fig tree? Saudi Arabia’s current 7th king and future 8th king fit the Biblical narratives set forth by the Word of God. 7th and 8th kings from the bottomless pit of evil, money, power, influence, corruption (5 Satanic influences). MBS is prince when he confirms the covenant. MBS becomes an Antichrist when he is worshiped as a mujaddid by Muslims, and then becomes the worldwide Antichrist when he is indwelt by Satan.

The timing of John the Apostle’s vision regarding the 8 Kings from the bottomless pit of the House of Saud – 5 ‘fallen’, 1 ‘is current’, 2 ‘are future’.

Why is this even a topic worth mentioning? What is the point? Is there a point? Yes, there is a point. And it is VERY important, from a prophetic viewpoint. In that, it is a ‘viewing point’ of the latter days, leading up to the tribulation. How so?

First, as Christians, we know that the Triune God gave John the Apostle a vision and knowledge of many things pertaining to the days leading up to and into the tribulation and after. The Holy Spirit carried him into the future, from his particular life in time, to witness things that he then explained in his Revelation of Jesus Christ. One of the visions he was given, while in the Holy Spirit, was of the 5 kings that were fallen, a 6th king he was being shown, and that of a 7th king who had not come (but would rule for a short while at some point in the future). Lastly, he was shown a future and last 8th king known and described as the Beast who would be sent to perdition, udder destruction, the lake of fire and brimstone, the second death … alive.

I have attempted to confirm who the 7th and 8th kings are from our point in space and time, relative to the ‘season of the times.’ What about this mysterious sixth king, the king ‘who is’. Why is this king important that John the Apostle was directly being shown? And what possible prophetic importance can he have? Of the 8 kings, why would God single out this particular man?

Consider that God, through the Holy Spirit, could have shown John any or all of the Kings in future ‘real time’. He was not permitted to see the 7th or 8th kings, but only the sixth. What perhaps was God’s reason for this?

The reign of 6th King Abdullah was from 2005 to 2015. This snapshot of time and space is important because it suggests that this time frame is important for us, for Gentiles alive in the final generation. To know that we are indeed in the ‘final season’ prior to our harpazo/rapture and the onset of the tribulation, without any doubt or hesitation. We know that Israel’s prophetic time clock began in 1948. God’s prophetic time clock for the tribulation of Gentile nations suggests that it started during the time of this sixth king. It is beyond the scope of this letter to go into details about what has occurred throughout the entire earth during the time of the sixth king’s reign. Many prophetic things started being revealed over the 5 year period from 2010 to 2015. The time of the sixth king’s reign is a sign post, a flashing light, a notice of when the final season begins and is upon the earth for Gentiles. God has given signs in scripture and the heavens for Jews, and Gentiles alike. The September 23, 2017 occurrence of the ‘great sign in heaven’ is an example of a sign for the Bride of Christ. The 6th Saudi king is a Gentile and a member of the House of Saud and the bottomless pit of evil. His reign (along with all the other past 5 kings and 2 future kings) has been orchestrated by Satan during the growth of this kingdom and the discovery of its bottomless wealth (oil). To a logical mind, clear and sober, this would indicate that God is saying that the age of grace for all Gentiles on earth is coming to a close. It is not important that we don’t know if God considers 2005 or 2015 to be the beginning of the ‘season of the time before the tribulation.’ Just as God spoke generically about the rebirth of Israel, as when you ‘see the fig tree bearing fruit’, he was referring to a time frame or process developing over time. In His divine plan, things develop and take time to grow until their divine timing is ripe to be revealed. Those who can discern can watch this occur, as it happens in ‘real time’ and understand appropriately and accordingly. As God gave a general timeline for Israel, commencing in 1948, he gives a Gentile timeline commencing in 2015. This of course is BEFORE the arrival of the future 7th and 8th kings who would indicate perhaps the middle and end of the ‘Fall Season’ or Season of the Times’ prior to the rapture/harpazo for the Bride and the onset of the tribulation.’

The 7 year period from 2015 to 2022 does indeed represent a 7 year period denoting God’s divine completion to his plan or purpose for the modern kingship lineage (line of) of Saudi Arabia. Time for the ‘Age of Grace’ has almost ended.  As I write this letter, there is exactly only three (3) months remaining in 2019 before the world enters 2020 and a ‘new’ decade. Time is running out before the time begins of God’s great wrath on mankind and Gentile nations. We can know this with certainty by looking at the time frame witnessed by John the Apostle of the 6th king from the House of Saud. Six (6) denotes evil man/men. Seven (7) denotes God’s divine completion to his plan or purpose. Eight (8) denotes new era, new epoch, new season, new time span, new series of events. The 7th Saud King indicates that God is finished with Satan’s status quo in Saudi Arabia and of the evil Gentile world. The 8th Saud King indicates that God is ushering in a new time of tribulation and trial for mankind, Jews and Gentiles. Remember, the seven (7) year tribulation is also referred to as the ‘time or week of Jacob’s trouble.’ A week being seven (7) years and Jacob being a reference to Jews and Israel. God is turning his attention back onto Israel, the redemption of the Jews, wrath towards the Gentile world and arranging the coming Millennial Reign of Christ on Earth.

But how can they call on him (Jesus Christ) to save them unless they believe in him (Jesus Christ)? And how can they believe in him (Jesus Christ) if they have never heard about him (Jesus Christ)? And how can they hear about him (Jesus Christ) unless someone tells them?” —Romans 10:14

In His Service,

Night Watchman

Paul Rolland

Night Watchman Ministries

Make Your Decision for Christ NOW!!!!!!! Time is Up!!!!!!!

Jesus Christ’s Offer of Salvation:

The ABCs of Salvation through Jesus Christ (the Lamb)

A. Admit/Acknowledge/Accept that you are sinner. Ask God’s forgiveness and repent of your sins.

. . . “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).

. . . “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10).

. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8).

B. Believe Jesus is Lord. Believe that Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be; that He was both fully God and fully man and that we are saved through His death, burial, and resurrection. Put your trust in Him as your only hope of salvation. Become a son or daughter of God by receiving Christ.

. . . “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:15-17). For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).

C. Call upon His name, Confess with your heart and with your lips that Jesus is your Lord and Savior.

. . . “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10).

. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (John 1:8-10).

. . . “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (John 2:2).

. . . “In this was manifested the love of god toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:9, 14-15).

. . . “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8-10).

. . . “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).

. . . “Jesus saith unto them, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).

. . . “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” (Romans 1:16).

. . . “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts: 4:12).

. . . “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:4-6).

. . . “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

. . . “But as many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12).

True Church / Bride of Christ Spared from God’s Wrath:

 Romans 5:8-10. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

Romans 12:19. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 1:10. And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 5:9. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Romans 8:35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Jeremiah 30:7. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.

Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.