NEWS UPDATE – SIGNS OF THE TIMES

Sons of Issachar readers will be concerned to know that I have struck down again by the “China virus” this week. If I was paranoid, I would suspect that President Xi has found out my location in rural Australia and sent one of his minions to spread the virus direct from the Wuhan Lab (Interestingly enough I did meet some visitors from Wuhan a few weeks ago!!).

I wasn’t planning to post anything this week because of I have been lying coughing and confused for the last 6 days. However, in between the virus haze, I have been reading as well as listening to various podcasts and thought I would share some of these with you.

I am planning a more integrative analysis next week as various pieces of a bigger picture seem to be falling into place. I also thought it was worthwhile revisiting the background and purpose of the Sons of Issachar Newsletter.

Who Were the Sons of Issachar?

I started this newsletter more than a year ago as I saw the increasing deplatforming of various voices of reason. It was evident that the truth was becoming more difficult to find as deception was gaining media traction. From a biblical worldview, this is anticipated as deception was the most important issue that Jesus warned his disciples about during His private briefing on the Mount of Olives just before his crucifixion (see Matthew 24).  

About the time that I was contemplating a newsletter, I also had been reading through the Old Testament Books of Chronicles and was struck by a description of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. The period described in this part of the Bible is when King David was assembling supporters at Hebron and various tribes were joining him, following the death of King Saul. Details of each of the 12 tribes are given (1 Chronicles 12:23-40) but uniquely, this section describes the sons of Issachar as those “…who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command” (1 Chronicles 12:32). The verse kept returning to my attention and I noted a few important things:

• This large tribe (more than 54,000 fighting men) were under the control of 200 outstanding leaders and these leaders had authority and also the commitment from the whole tribe.

• They had an understanding/discernment of the times to know/comprehend what the entire nation of Israel needed to do. These were clearly men of learning who were instructed in the Torah (the first 5 books of the Old Testament) and had the Lord’s discernment.

The sons of Issachar were an important group in the larger population of Israel and they provided information and understanding about the broader contemporary picture. They were a vital group of advisors as King David entered a new season at the start of his rule. There had been a civil war in Israel as previously King Saul had sought to kill David, whom he saw as a threat to his kingdom. It must have been a very delicate period in the nation and there was a need for a group of wise advisors who “understood the times”.

What Is The Relevance Of The Sons of Issachar Today?

Reading and meditating on the story of the Sons of Issachar, I sensed a prompting to share some of what I believed were reliable sources of information and a biblical perspective. I thought may be helpful to a small group of family and friends. Armed with this information, I hoped that people may be able to make better decisions and that they would “know what to do”. A biblical perspective is important because otherwise the daily news of a series of dark forces acting to bring about the subjugation of populations and a global dictatorship can lead to a sense of hopelessness. However, from a biblical viewpoint, there has been a battle between good and evil since the Garden of Eden. God Himself, as Jesus entered into real history and showed God’s love for humanity and shared His amazing rescue plan. Surprisingly, the plan was His death and resurrection.

Today, despite the rise in the powers of darkness, which seem to have recently accelerated in influence and control, the Bible tells us very clearly that Jesus will return and He will defeat the forces of darkness and establish a perfect rule. No one knows when this will be but Jesus told his followers that they should “watch and pray” (Matthew 26:41). This admonition still stands today and is our best strategy for the days ahead.

Sons of Issachar Newsletter Today

There is now a wider readership of the Sons of Issachar Newsletter, thanks to the advice of another substack writer, Steven Wilkinson who writes an insightful and always thought-provoking newsletter, “The Pitchfork Papers”. Steven provides a wonderful weekly insight into “the intersection of business, finance and life” and I highly recommend subscribing. So I thought that it was worthwhile taking this opportunity to provide some background to the Sons of Issachar Newsletter for old and new readers and hope that this helps in understanding the focus of my weekly ramblings.

I listen to a wide range of podcasts and read various news sources so that my readers in their busy lives may be able to have a weekly distillation of what I think is important from my biblical worldview. This takes me around 30 hours per week - it’s like a full-time job!

I realize that I have left many important stories out and I don’t really have good sources about what is happening in Africa or South America. However, I do closely follow what is happening in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and Australasia. Usually, I write an overarching thought that has come to mind as I try to assimilate what I have read and heard and what I feel prompted to write about. Then I also try to share some significant videos, podcasts or articles that my readers may appreciate if they want to know further detail.

At the urging of a number of subscribers, I added an audio version of the newsletter about 9 months ago because it was difficult for some to find the time to read but they were able to listen as they worked or drove.

My aim is simply to help readers, today’s Sons of Issachar, to “understand the times” and with this understanding, “to know what to do”.

STORIES THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION THIS WEEK

The 2024 US Presidential Election

There is a saying along the lines, “when the US sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold”. It probably needs updating and adding, “when a virus escapes from Wuhan, we know that there is a global plot”!

In any case, the US despite its downward trajectory, is still very influential and it is extraordinary to see an octogenarian US President, struggling to read a teleprompter and who is clearly in significant cognitive decline. Even more incredible is the lack of attention from the mainstream media, which cover-up all Biden’s gaffes. On Biden’s recent “holiday” in Ireland, it was hard to believe that Joe was being guided about by his “seeing-eye dog”, son Hunter (Laptop from Hell). Presumably, Hunter was standing in for Dr Jill who was otherwise occupied or having a break from her responsibilities as a geriatric carer.  

In politics, nothing happens by chance, and it is evident that Biden is not in charge of anything but is a convenient puppet for the extreme left of the Democratic Party to implement their radical agenda. The implications for the US and the world are serious. Profligate spending, an unrestricted southern border, gender wars, fossil fuel obliteration, woke military policies and erosion of national sovereignty all have extensive downstream impacts. The transfer of billions of dollars to Ukraine cannot continue indefinitely and sooner or later Americans will wake up to the sinister reasons that the Ukrainian President is being propped up. Of course, China, and its allies in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations plus its new friends: Saudi Arabia, Iran and Syria, are taking full advantage. One can see the rise in the significance of the yuan as a global currency.

The stated intention of the current radical Democrats and their World Economic Forum acolytes is to bring about the end of the US as a global power. They will succeed unless there is a 180 degree change. This seems difficult to achieve given the hold that Democrats have gained over the electoral process which was altered by COVID to permit very lax postal voting procedures in many US states.

We are, however, about to enter a new phase of the US “Presidential Electoral Circus” as various candidates announce their nominations, ahead of the first primaries in early 2024. Donald Trump as usual, seems to be sucking out all the oxygen from the Republican airspace and you can’t help to admire him and be amazed at his chutzpah. Assailed on every side by a partisan legal process, he continues to bypass the jugular vein of Ron DeSantis and head straight for the carotid artery!

DeSantis insiders had reported that he had bad table manners and even ate his dessert with his fingers! (Note: DeSantis’ team has denied this). Nontheless, the Trump campaign came out this week with an amazing ad that I thought I would share for my readers’ entertainment:

For those readers who haven’t the time for this short video, it starts off with an image of a man sticking his fingers into a plastic chocolate pudding tub. The voiceover says:

“Ron DeSantis loves sticking his fingers where they don’t belong. And we’re not just talking about pudding. DeSantis has his dirty fingers all over senior entitlements…”

As we remember Trump’s “greatest hits” from his 2016 campaign: “lyin’ Ted”, “crooked Hilary”, Jeb “low energy” Bush, “crazy Bernie” and of course “Pocahontas”, we are certain to be in for some treats as the Republican nomination process unfolds.

Trump seems to be trying a “nuclear” approach to knock any competitors out of the Republican race and he may well be successful. He is around 20 points ahead of “DeSanctimonious” (as Trump calls DeSantis) at the moment and you would have to put your money on Trump’s nomination in the summer of 2024. However, there is a lot of water still to flow under the bridge and one suspects, many hand grenades to be lobbed by both Republicans and Democrats.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are in a bind. Biden has been a convenient puppet to sign what his minders tell him but he is unlikely to make it through until the end of 2024. The only reason he made the grade in the last election was that he was locked in his basement for most of the presidential campaign. It will be hard to orchestrate this again.

What will the Democrats do? Kamala Harris has no support, even from her own staff, which have resigned in droves. Robert F Kennedy Jnr has announced his nomination but as a prominent opponent of the COVID-19 vaccines, will not gather backing from the now-communist “Demoncratic” party. The US economy will continue to crash and one recent analysis showed that the average voter is more than $6,000 worse off since Biden’s inauguration.

As they say “you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time”. Surely, the US voting population will make a decision for a 180 degree turnaround if enough independent observers are deployed to see that there is a fair presidential electoral process in all 50 US states in 2024?

It will be interesting to see the direction of the Trump campaign and whether he is able to present a new vision to “make America great again” that gains the support of voters in the key swing states. DeSantis looks a long-shot at this stage and he has dropped dramatically in the polls in the last weeks. He is only 44 years old and so has plenty of time ahead and may be able to put “puddinggate” behind him. A Trump-DeSantis ticket is possible but seems extremely unlikely, given the likely ongoing assault by the Trump team on DeSantis.

The destructive policies of the Biden administration have not yet gained the attention of the majority of US voters. In the months ahead, challenges at the border, the banking crisis, green energy mandates, another “pandemic” and a likely major Middle East conflict are just some of the issues that will have a major influence on voters intentions.

Buckle in – it’s going to be a crazy ride over the next 18 months, and that’s even without “Crazy Bernie”.

The Coming Conflict with Iran

My attention was drawn this week to an interesting assessment of the threat to Israel from Iran, by Dr Mordechai Kedar, an Israeli intelligence analyst based at Bar-Ilan University. Writing for the Jewish News Syndicate (www.jns.org), Dr Kedar has written a “must read” article titled, “Death to Israel: the Iranian Plan to Attack Israel”.

For my readers who don’t have the time to read the entire article, here are a few key excerpts:

“A source I’ve known for years—an expatriate from the Middle East, a supporter of Israel, who lives in Europe and is in continuous contact with people in Iran and Iraq—conveyed to me their assessment that Iran plans to launch a combined attack on Israel in the foreseeable future that will include all the forces at its disposal in several Arab countries:

In Lebanon: Hezbollah and Hamas, with many thousands of missiles, some of them precision-guided, and UAVs.

In Syria: Seventeen armed and ready combat units (“militias”): Fatimiun, Zinbioun, Nujabaa’, Hezbollah, Abu Al-Fadhl Brigade, ‘Asaa’b Ahl al-Haq, Khorasani Brigade and more. Iran has transferred a very large number of missiles and UAVs to Syria, and these are ready to be launched.

In Iraq: Dozens of militias, armed with missiles and UAVs.

In Yemen: The Houthis, who have Iranian long-range missiles and UAVs capable of reaching Israel.

In Gaza: Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, with missiles capable of disabling the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Air Force bases.

It is likely that Iran will not launch anything directly from its own territory, so as not to expose itself to retaliation.”

He writes in detail about the potential scenario and how it may play out and concludes with this paragraph:

“If the Israeli public wants to survive, it must prepare—mentally and physically—for war with the Iranian octopus that has managed to establish its grip on Gaza and the failed countries adjacent to Israel: Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen—all countries that have almost nothing to lose. Qatari money and the jihad media channel Al Jazeera are constantly pouring jet fuel on the fire of hatred for Israel and preparing public opinion in the Middle East and the wider world for the great, final campaign.”

Jesusalem, God’s own city, will continue to be contested in the days and years ahead and it is worthwhile keeping a close eye on events in the Middle East as one of the key “signs of the times”.

Australia’s Latest Vaccination Statistics

Late last night I stumbled upon an Australian Government presentation of vaccination data from the beginning of the vaccine rollout in early 2022 up until the last week. It was fascinating viewing and it is worthwhile examining the file which has various graphs that demonstrate how almost all Australians were forced into being injected with a dangerous experimental genetic agent. There can be few other countries in the world where the government has mounted such an effective and inujurious propaganda campaign. The file can be accessed here:

The most interesting part of the data to me was the remarkable impact of the conspiracy to force the untested injections into almost all the population. One of the graphs show that there were fewer than 500 people in Australia who were not vaccinated in the over-65-year age group in the whole of Australia. This means that fewer than 1 in 10,000 of this age group was not vaccinated. Overall, 98% of the population was vaccinated and in a country with a population of around 26 million, 65,991,753 “vaccinations” (mostly mRNA) had been given up until 12 April 2023.

I fear for the health of the Australian population over the coming years. I did, however, work out a great script that the over 65 year age group could use when asked by hospitals, doctors or government officials whether they been vaccinated:

Official: Have you been vaccinated against COVID?

Me: Have you seen the latest government data?

Official: No, I haven’t

Me: Well, while I can’t tell you about my vaccination status, because of privacy issues, the government data shows that fewer than 1 in 10,000 people in the over-65-year age group are unvaccinated. You can work it out for yourself – there is almost no chance that I’m unvaccinated!

Depression Drugs May Cause Suicide

I have always been suspicious about various drugs used to treat depression. From personal experience in my family, I have seen some serious side effects but they may be helpful for some people. However, an article in the UK Telegraph this week reported that psychologists at the University of East London had studied 8,000 coroners’ inquests between 2003 and 2020 and had found that anti-depressants were linked to “5,000 self-inflicted deaths”. Dr John Read, one of the study authors was quoted saying:

 “not only do antidepressants not reduce suicidality, but they also increase it for many, and for some they provide the mechanism for taking one’s own life.”

This is a shocking but not unexpected finding as various older reports have been published about the potential risk of antidepressants increasing suicide risk.

Of great concern is what I’ve noted about the willingness of manuy medical practitioners to hand out antidepressants as a quick fix for depression without adequately assessing the potential for increasing the risk of suicide.

Cash to Go in the UK

For the last year, I have been writing about the likely elimination of cash and the introduction of programmable central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). An article in the UK Telegraph this week alerted me to the timetable being moved up. The governor of the Bank of England warned that: “it would be harder to spend physical money in the coming years”. The article reported that 90% of people use contactless payments and it was estimated that “by 2028 only 9% of payments would be made in physical currency”.

Undoubtedly, the dice have been loaded, and we “laboratory rodents” have all spurned cash for the sake of convenience. It is only a small step then to introduce programmable CBDCs which suddenly won’t work when paying for undesirable products such as meat or transfers made to organizations on a government “hit list”.

Fifth Generation Warfare

I have read various articles about 5^th generation warfare (5GW) in the last few months. Last night I watched an excellent 30 min video from James Corbett that is helpful in providing an overview and context and you can watch at this link.

I will write in more detail about this next week but Corbett says that the best definition of 5GW remarkably, is that given by Al Jazeera:

"The basic idea behind this term [5GW] is that in the modern era, wars are not fought by armies or guerrillas, but in the minds of common citizens."

Corbett goes on to write:

“The gist of it is this: Fifth-generation warfare is an all-out war that is being waged against all of us by our governments and the international organizations to which they belong. It is being waged against each and every one of us right now, and it is a battle for full-spectrum dominance over every single aspect of your life: your movements and interactions, your transactions, even your innermost thoughts and feelings and desires. Governments the world over are working with corporations to leverage technology to control you down to the genomic level, and they will not stop until each and every person who resists them is subdued or eliminated.

The most incredible part of all of this is that so few know that the war is even taking place, let alone that they are a combatant in it.”

James Corbett is one of the most insightful commentators on the internet and it is worthwhile subscribing to the Corbett Report at this link. He has been ahead of the curve for a long period and always has a fresh perspective on issues that have been hidden from general consumption.

Jessica Rose Writes on the New Bivalent Vaccines

Dr Jessica Rose is a clever data analyst who was one of the earliest scientists to draw attention to the shocking data in the US Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) - following the introduction of the experimental mRNA “vaccines”.

Dr Rose (no relation) has an excellent substack and this week she reported on the rollout of the bivalent Moderna and Pfizer vaccines by the FDA -

PSA: The FDA has declared that only bivalent shots are authorized for use in US - April 18, 2023

She notes that there have been 25,118 reports of adverse effects from the bivalent vaccines since their release in September 2022. Previously it has been established that the VAERS system captures only between 1 and 10% of adverse events. It is therefore likely that these vaccines which have no demonstrated efficacy, are causing significant health problems for a large number of people. These reports are still being suppressed by the legacy media.

A Guide to the WHO’s Proposed Agreements for Global Control

James Roguski is another substack author who has taken on a campaign against the WHO’s push for global control of pandemics. His latest article is essential reading as there is little awareness by the general public in most countries, of the WHO’s plan for global control of health policy. In his latest post – “A Guide to the World Health Organization’s Proposed Agreements” -

A Guide to the World Health Organization's Proposed Agreements

James includes links to the previous international health regulations (IHR) and the draft pandemic treaty that is being ushered towards agreement by signatory countries (virtually the entire world) at the 77^th World Health Assembly in Geneva in 2024. The 76th World Health Assembly is coming up at the end of May 2023 in Geneva and the pressure on these unelected representatives will be intense.

This is a cunning revolution by stealth to manoeuvre countries into handing over their national sovereignty to an organization controlled by China and the Gates Foundation. James has a number of links in his article that allow people to object to the proposals. He also has a website: www.exitthewho.com

Conclusions

Although I am not at my peak and I may be writing in a delirium, I hope that the Sons of Issachar Newsletter this week has provided a little more context about the background and purpose of the weekly newsletter. I also trust that some of the news stories that I have brought to readers this week may be new information and that this information helps in “understanding the signs of the times”.

I always appreciate feedback and look forward to hearing from you if you have time to write.