3-man Republican race? 3 ‘time-bomb issues’ both party’s candidates ignore?

Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz

There was yet another Republican presidential debate last night:

January 15, 2016

Three-man race?

“There were three winners of this debate: Rubio, Trump and Cruz,” said Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist and former campaign advisor for Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.

The debate did not do much to change the perception that the Republican field is narrowing, O’Connell told VOA.

“At the rate things are going, it seems like we’re heading for a three-man race,” he said.

That is also the assessment of Tucker Eskew, a veteran political strategist from South Carolina and a former deputy assistant to former president George W. Bush.

“[After this debate] I think we will have seen some hardening of support for the major candidates, and perhaps a softening of support for those falling out of the top three or four,” Eskew told VOA.

Trump-Cruz clashes

What is less clear, however, is who came out on top in the confrontations between Trump and Cruz, a fight that was long-anticipated. http://www.voanews.com/content/gop-debate-reveals-three-man-race/3147046.html

As far as who “won” the debate, while I have my own views since I watched parts of it last night, in a sense the answer should become clearer on what Republicans feel in a few weeks at the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary election.

An article at World News Daily had an interesting premise regarding the candidates for the Democratic and Republican parties. Notice the following:

January 14, 2016

The 3 time-bomb issues candidates ignore

Sadly, the presidential campaign’s great capacity for amusement obscures deep national discourse needed on many important problems. Chief among them are what I call three “time bomb” issues: infrastructure cyber-attacks, the U.S. government’s unfunded liabilities and apocalyptic Islam.

Back in September, U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, while testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, “Cyber-threats to U.S. national and economic security are increasing in frequency, scale, sophistication and severity of impact.”

Why isn’t there a major public/private national initiative underway to prevent such attacks?

If you want to see a real “ticking time bomb of doom” then look at the U.S. Debt Clock.

First, notice that the U.S. national debt is $18.8 trillion. (For the record it was $10.6 trillion on the day Obama was inaugurated.) But more alarming is an additional $100 trillion in U.S. unfunded liabilities – payments obligated by the government. As defined by the U.S. Treasury, this $100 trillion includes Social Security, Medicare parts A, B, and D, federal debt held by the public, plus federal employee and veteran benefits.

Apocalyptic Islam

What exactly is apocalyptic Islam?

A concise description was from best-selling author Joel Rosenberg in his recent Jerusalem Post editorial headlined: “What the next U.S. president will need to know about Iran and Islamic State.” Rosenberg writes in part, “Adherents of apocalyptic Islam seek to use genocide to annihilate all infidels and establish a global Islamic kingdom known as the caliphate. …

The Islamic State plans to provoke the Western powers and draw them into an apocalyptic battle in the Middle East. While Iran’s strategy, Rosenberg writes, is “when they are ready to commit genocide on an epic scale – annihilating America and Israel – then they can turn their attention to the establishment of the Islamic kingdom and the Mahdi will come.”

Obviously, this sounds like crazy talk to American ears, but not to the leaders of Iran and the Islamic State. They are brutally honest when writing, ranting and raving about their ultimate intentions based on these “end times” beliefs.

The truth is, so far, the U.S. government refuses to take any of this seriously.

Furthermore, no presidential candidate wants to invoke the “Mahdi” or the “Twelfth Iman” during a town-hall gathering, debate or media appearance without incurring severe backlash and risk being called a “nut case” across the media spectrum.

Instead what suffices for now are candidate’s talking points about fighting “Islamic terror” with targeted airstrikes and “boots” or “no boots” on the ground. But the real truth is apocalyptic Islam is now and will always drive the actions of the Islamic State and Iran. http://www.wnd.com/2016/01/the-3-time-bomb-issues-candidates-ignore/#awL4flw5q1E5eWrS.99

With one possible exception, I do not recall hearing Republican nor Democratic candidates discussing the ‘Imam Mahdi’ nor ‘Apocalyptic Islam.’ But I have heard many discuss the debt of the USA and some plans to deal with it–and some of the proposals related to Social Security would have some impact on the unfunded liabilities issue–though, in my view, not enough to solve it (see also the post earlier today Do you take seriously the warnings of the prophet Habakkuk?).

As far as cyber-security, that has many aspects, including taking steps to defend against a possible electro-magnetic pulse attack. These are things that some in Washington are looking at (see Experts try to warn Barack Obama of EMP risks), but whether or not the presidential candidates would do much about them is an open question.

As far as Joel Richardson goes, check out the article Is There an Islamic Antichrist? But related to ‘Apocalyptic Islam’ and the rise of the Imam Mahdi (see The Arab and Islamic World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy), the related issue is that the presidential candidates, at least publicly, do not seem to take much seriously about Bible prophecy.

The Bible teaches that there will be a confederation of nations in northern Africa and the Middle East that will coalesce behind a leader called the final King of the South (Daniel 11:40-43). The Bible says that this leader will be involved with a deceptive deal with the final European King of the North (Daniel 11:27). The Bible prophecies terror (see Why Terrorism? Is Terrorism Prophesied?) including problems from Syrians (Isaiah 9:12). The Bible also prophesies a deal between the Arabs and Europeans in Psalm 83 that will not turn out well for the USA (see also Why Terrorism? Is Terrorism Prophesied? and Is the Future King of the South Rising Up?).

And there are more ‘time-bomb issues.’

The presidential candidates do not seem to realize the national identity of the USA according to the Bible (see Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel), that God has a 6,000 year plan, and that national repentance is needed or the USA is doomed (Habakkuk 2:6-8; Daniel 11:39).

Time is running out for the USA. We are getting closer to the end of the 6,000 years that God is allowing humans to rule themselves, prior to the return of Jesus Christ and the beginning of the millennial reign (see Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? and Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism?). This is something that none of the presidential candidates has discussed publicly as far as I can tell.

And the end will come whether they believe it or not.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Should a Christian Vote? This article gives some of the Biblical rationale on this subject. Would Jesus vote for president/prime minister? Is voting in the Bible? This is a subject Christians need to understand.
Why Terrorism? Is Terrorism Prophesied? What does the Bible teach? Which nations may be affected? Here is a link to a related sermon: Terrorism, Christianity, and Islam.
The Arab and Islamic World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam? What about the Imam Mahdi? What lies ahead for Turkey, Iran, and the other non-Arabic Muslims? An item of possibly related interest in the Spanish language would be: Líderes iraníes condenan la hipocresía de Occidente y declaran que ahora es tiempo para prepararse para el Armagedón, la guerra, y el Imán Mahdi.
Is There an Islamic Antichrist? Is Joel Richardson correct that the final Antichrist will be Islamic and not European? Find out.
Is the Future King of the South Rising Up? Some no longer believe there needs to be a future King of the South. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? Might this King be called the Mahdi or Caliph? What does the Bible say? A YouTube video of related interest may be: The Future King of the South is Rising.
Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism? Was the millennium (sometimes called chiliasm) taught by early Christians? Who condemned it? Will Jesus literally reign for 1000 years on the earth? Is this time near? Two related sermons are available Millennial Utopia and The Millennium.
Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2023 or 20xx? There is also a video titled The 6000 Year Plan: Is the end of humanity’s reign almost up? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2016, 2017, or 2018? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2016 o 2017? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon video: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives. A shorter video is: Can the Great Tribulation Start in 2016?
Just What Do You Mean — Repentance? Do you know what repentance is? Have you truly repented? Repented of what? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
When You Sin: Do You Really Repent? This is an article by Charles F. Hunting. A related sermon is Confess to God and truly repent.
Hillary Clinton in Prophecy Prophecy, Hillary Clinton? Are there prophecies that Hillary Clinton may fulfill? Are there any prophecies that she has already helped fulfill? Could Hillary Clinton be apocalyptic? Could Hillary Clinton be the final Antichrist? A video of related interest is titled Hillary Clinton and Bible Prophecy.
Hillary Clinton, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States This is a 188 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Hillary Clinton and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also discusses Republicans. The physical book can be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Hillary Clinton, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Hillary Clinton Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Hopi, and other America-Related Prophecies? $11.99.
Hillary Clinton, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version of the 188 page print edition is available for only US$3.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Hillary Clinton, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Amazon Kindle edition.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the Emphasis of Jesus and the Early Church Did you know that? Do you even know what the gospel of the kingdom is all about? You can also see a YouTube video sermon The Gospel of the Kingdom.
Women and the New Testament Church What roles did women play in the ministry of Jesus and the apostles? Did Jesus and the Apostle Paul violate Jewish traditions regarding their dealings with women? Do women have any biblical limitations on their role in the Church? Were there female prophets? Do women have any special responsibilities in terms of how they dress? What does the New Testament really teach about women? Here is a related sermon titled: New Testament Women.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse.
Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Edition for Second Obama Term This is a 160 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Barack Obama and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled (which the book documents in detail) and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also has a chapter about a Republican choice. This book is available to order at www.barackobamaprophecy.com. The physical book can also be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Barack Obama Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Kenyan, and other America-Related Prophecies? What About Republican Leaders? Second Edition for Second Obama Term.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version is available for only US$2.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition.